Citation

Watson DS, Shields BJ, Smith GA. Am. J. Emerg. Med. 2011; 29(1): 11-17.

Affiliation

Center for Injury Research and Policy, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH 43205, USA; The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.ajem.2009.07.003

PMID

20825768

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Injuries and medical emergencies associated with snow shovel use are common in the United States. METHODS: This is a retrospective analysis of data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System. This study analyzes the epidemiologic features of snow shovel-related injuries and medical emergencies treated in US emergency departments (EDs) from 1990 to 2006. RESULTS: An estimated 195 100 individuals (95% confidence interval, 140 400-249 800) were treated in US EDs for snow shovel-related incidents during the 17-year study period, averaging 11 500 individuals annually (SD, 5300). The average annual rate of snow shovel-related injuries and medical emergencies was 4.15 per 100 000 population. Approximately two thirds (67.5%) of these incidents occurred among males. Children younger than 18 years comprised 15.3% of the cases, whereas older adults (55 years and older) accounted for 21.8%. The most common diagnosis was soft tissue injury (54.7%). Injuries to the lower back accounted for 34.3% of the cases. The most common mechanism of injury/nature of medical emergency was acute musculoskeletal exertion (53.9%) followed by slips and falls (20.0%) and being struck by a snow shovel (15.0%). Cardiac-related ED visits accounted for 6.7% of the cases, including all of the 1647 deaths in the study. Patients required hospitalization in 5.8% of the cases. Most snow shovel-related incidents (95.6%) occurred in and around the home. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to comprehensively examine snow shovel-related injuries and medical emergencies in the United States using a nationally representative sample. There are an estimated 11 500 snow shovel-related injuries and medical emergencies treated annually in US EDs.

Language: en