Injury Patterns and Discharge Dispositions in BC Motorcycle Accident Victims: A Retrospective Chart Analysis
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Motorcycle ridership is rising in Canada. Though motorcycling injuries have been studied in the United States, Europe and Asia, there is a paucity of Canadian studies. We provide a descriptive analysis of injury patterns in motorcycle crash victims and their relationship to discharge disposition and length of hospital stay.
METHODS: We performed a retrospective chart review of all patients involved in a motorcycle crash and admitted to Vancouver General Hospital between April 2001 and December 2009 (N = 567). We extracted data from the ICD-10 coded Discharge Abstract Database, and re-coded injuries into overarching anatomical categories. Discharge dispositions were recorded as they appeared in patient charts.
RESULTS: Riders tended to be male (89.2%) and had a mean age of 37.2. The average length of stay was 14.4 days. The most common injuries were tibial fractures (N = 108, 19% of cases), forearm fractures (N = 105, 18.5%), and rib fractures (N=92%, 16.2%). Most riders were discharged home (N=403, 70.0%), and these patients most commonly sustained tibial and forearm fractures (N=70, 17.4%, for each). Those who remained in hospital were most likely to have sustained injuries to the pelvis (N=43, 29.3%), cervical spine (N=38, 25.9%), or thoracic spine (N=37, 25.2%). Among the 14 patients (2.5%) who expired, the most common injuries were intracranial haemorrhage, rib fracture, haemothorax, liver injury, and cervical spine fracture (N=5, 35.7% each).
CONCLUSION: The results provide a starting point to help physicians predict injuries in motorcycle crash victims as well as predict their dispositions.