J Korean Soc Emerg Med.  2018 Dec;29(6):603-615. 10.0000/jksem.2018.29.6.603.

Effect of regional climatic conditions, air pollutants, and season on the occurrence and severity of injury in trauma patients

• Kim YM
• Yu GG
• Shin HJ
• Lee SW
• Park JS
• Kim H

• KMID: 2432050
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.0000/jksem.2018.29.6.603

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
We analyzed the association between regional weather and temporal changes on the daily occurrence of trauma emergencies and their severity.
METHODS
In this cross-sectional prospective study, we investigated daily atmospheric patterns in trauma episodes in 1,344 patients in Cheongju city, South Korea, from January 2016 to December 2016 and analyzed the association of trauma occurrence and Injury Severity Scores (ISS) with weather conditions on a daily scale.
RESULTS
The mean age of trauma patients was 53.0±23.8 years and average ISS was 9.0±2.0. Incidence of trauma was positively correlated with average temperature (r=0.512, P < 0.001) and atmospheric pressure (r=0.332, P=0.010) and negatively correlated with air pollutants (particulate matter less than 2.5 µm³ [PM2.5], r=−0.629, P < 0.001; particulate matter less than 10 µm³ [PM10], r=−0.679, P < 0.001). ISS was not significantly correlated with climate parameters and air pollutants, and variability was observed in the frequency and severity of trauma by time of day (highest occurrence, 16-20 pm; highest ISS, 4-8 am), day of the week (highest occurrence and highest ISS, Saturday), month of the year (highest occurrence, July; highest ISS, November), and season (highest incidence, summer; highest ISS, autumn).
CONCLUSION
The study shows a positive relationship between trauma occurrence and specific weather conditions, such as atmospheric temperature and pressure. There was a negative relationship between concentrations of PM2.5 or PM10, and trauma occurrence. However, no correlation was observed between weather conditions or the concentrations of air pollutants and ISS. In addition, seasonal, circaseptan, and circadian variations exist in trauma occurrence and severity. Thus, we suggest that evaluation of a larger, population-based data set is needed to further investigate and confirm these relationships.

Keyword

Air pollutants; Weather; Injury severity score; Injuries

MeSH Terms

Air Pollutants*
Atmospheric Pressure
Chungcheongbuk-do
Climate
Dataset
Emergencies
Humans
Incidence
Injury Severity Score
Korea
Particulate Matter
Prospective Studies
Seasons*
Weather
Air Pollutants
Particulate Matter