Citation

Boyle D, Parker D, Larson C, Pessoa-Brandão L. Am. J. Ind. Med. 2000; 37(5): 542-550.

Affiliation

Minnesota Department of Health, Chronic Disease and Environmental Epidemiology, 717 Delaware Street S.E., Minneapolis, Minnesota 55414, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2000, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

10723048

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The Minnesota Sentinel Event Notification System for Occupational Risks (SENSOR) has collected data on the nature, incidence, and cause of work-related amputation injuries that have taken place since 1992. METHODS: SENSOR defined an amputation as any finger amputation or the loss of any other body part; 832 workers were identified as having amputation injuries between 1994 and 1995 and 72% of these workers completed telephone interviews. RESULTS: The amputation injury rate for Minnesota workers was 39 per 100,000 workers, with agriculture and manufacturing having the highest rates. Sixty-six percent of the injuries involved one finger; 14% involved two or more fingers. Persons working with machinery reported 73% of the injuries. CONCLUSIONS: A closer examination of the incidence and causes for amputation injuries shows that these were not random events. Reliance on human reactions to prevent injury is inadequate; therefore, additional research needs to be conducted.

Language: en