TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2000//
TI  - Mechanisms and patterns of injuries related to large animals
JO  - Journal of trauma
A1  - Goodfried, G.
A1  - McLarty, J. W.
A1  - Fernandez, L. G.
A1  - Vallina, V. L.
A1  - McAuley, C.
A1  - Norwood, S.
SP  - 740
EP  - 744
VL  - 48
IS  - 4
N2  - BACKGROUND: Injuries from encounters with large animals represent a significant health risk for rural communities. We evaluated our regional trauma centers' experience with large-animal injuries to determine whether certain mechanisms and patterns of injury predicted either major head/craniofacial or torso (chest/abdomen/pelvis) trauma. METHODS: The hospital courses of 145 patients with injuries related to large animals were reviewed retrospectively to determine patterns of injury, specific injury mechanisms, species-specific injuries, and predictors of multiple body region trauma. RESULTS: Seventy-nine patients (55%) were injured by horses, 47 patients (32%) by bulls, 16 patients (11%) by cows, and 3 patients (2%) by wild animal attacks. The predominant species-specific mechanisms of injury were falls (horses), tramplings (bulls), and kicks (cows). Brain/craniofacial injuries were most common from horse-related encounters (32%), whereas bull and cow encounters usually resulted in torso injuries (45% and 56%, respectively). Multiple body region injuries occurred in 32% of patients. Fractures of the upper extremities were more often associated with torso and head/craniofacial injuries (48%) than lower extremity injuries (17%) (p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: Large animal injuries frequently involve multiple body regions with species-specific mechanisms. Upper extremity injuries are associated with a significantly higher percentage of torso and head/craniofacial injuries, which may have implications for field triage.
LA  - 
SN  - 0022-5282
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ID  - ref1
ER  -