J Korean Soc Emerg Med.  2017 Aug;28(4):327-333. 10.0000/jksem.2017.28.4.327.

Early Predictors of Severe Injury in Motorcycle Crashes

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Emergency Medicine, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea. figo7107@naver.com

Abstract

PURPOSE
The severity and mortality of motorcycle accidents are higher than those of other traffic accidents. The majority of risk factors for injury severity identified in previous studies are difficult to apply. This study attempted to identify the clinically useful risk factors for predicting severely injured patients presenting to the emergency department after a motorcycle accident.
METHODS
Motorcycle accident patients who visited a Level I trauma center from October 2015 to March 2017 were analyzed. The patients were classified as the severely injured group (Injury Severity Score, ISS≥16) and non-severely injured group (ISS<16).
RESULTS
A total of 271 patients were analyzed; 135 (49.8%) patients were included in the severely injured group. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed with the statistically significant factors between the two groups, including age, systolic blood pressure, heart rate, Glasgow coma scale, alcohol ingestion, and site of injury. The final risk factors predicting severely injured patients were as follows: age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.023; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.005- 1.041; p=0.011), systolic blood pressure (aOR, 0.981; 95% CI, 0.970-0.993; p=0.002) and site of injury including abdomen (aOR, 5.785; 95% CI, 2.513-13.316; p<0.001), chest (aOR, 4.567; 95% CI, 2.274-9.173; p<0.001), head and neck (aOR, 5.762; 95% CI, 2.656-12.504; p<0.001), and face (aOR, 2.465; 95% CI, 1.229-4.943; p=0.011).
CONCLUSION
Motorcycle accident patients should be assessed promptly for injury to the chest or abdomen by a careful physical examination and focused assessment with sonography for trauma.

Keyword

Motorcycles; Injury Severity Score; Critical care

MeSH Terms

Abdomen
Accidents, Traffic
Blood Pressure
Critical Care
Eating
Emergency Service, Hospital
Glasgow Coma Scale
Head
Heart Rate
Humans
Injury Severity Score
Logistic Models
Mortality
Motorcycles*
Neck
Odds Ratio
Physical Examination
Risk Factors
Thorax
Trauma Centers
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