TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2009//
TI  - Aviation-related injury morbidity and mortality: Data from U.S. health information systems
JO  - Aviation, space, and environmental medicine
A1  - Baker, Susan Pardee
A1  - Brady, Joanne E.
A1  - Shanahan, Dennis F.
A1  - Li, Guohua
SP  - 1001
EP  - 1005
VL  - 80
IS  - 12
N2  - INTRODUCTION: Information about injuries sustained by survivors of airplane crashes is scant, although some information is available on fatal aviation-related injuries. Objectives of this study were to explore the patterns of aviation-related injuries admitted to U.S. hospitals and relate them to aviation deaths in the same period. METHODS: The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) contains information for approximately 20% of all hospital admissions in the United States each year. We identified patients in the HCUP NIS who were hospitalized during 2000-2005 for aviation-related injuries based on the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, codes E840-E844. Injury patterns were also examined in relation to information from multiple-cause-of-death public-use data files 2000-2005. RESULTS: Nationally, an estimated 6080 patients in 6 yr, or 1013 admissions annually (95% confidence interval 894-1133), were hospitalized for aviation-related injuries, based on 1246 patients in the sample. The average hospital stay was 6.3 d and 2% died in hospital. Occupants of non-commercial aircraft accounted for 32% of patients, parachutists for 29%; occupants of commercial aircraft and of unpowered aircraft each constituted 11%. Lower-limb fracture was the most common injury in each category, constituting 27% of the total, followed by head injury (11%), open wound (10%), upper extremity fracture, and internal injury (9%). Among fatalities, head injury (38%) was most prominent. An average of 753 deaths occurred annually; for each death there were 1.3 hospitalizations. CONCLUSIONS: Aviation-related injuries result in approximately 1000 hospitalizations each year in the United States, with an in-hospital mortality rate of 2%. The most common injury sustained by aviation crash survivors is lower-limb fracture.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0095-6562
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ID  - ref1
ER  -