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Effects of Seat Belt Usage on Injury Pattern and Outcome of Vehicle Occupants After Road Traffic Collisions: Prospective Study

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Abstract

Background

Injury and death from road traffic collisions (RTCs) is a major health problem worldwide. The seat belt is the most important RTC safety innovation to reduce injury severity and death from RTCs. We aimed to study the effects of seat belt usage on injury patterns and outcomes of restrained vehicle occupants compared with unrestrained occupants after RTCs.

Methods

RTC trauma patients who were vehicle occupants and admitted to Al-Ain and Tawam Hospitals, or who died after arrival at the emergency departments were prospectively studied during the period of April 2006 to October 2007. Demography of patients, position in the vehicle, usage of seat belts, injury severity markers, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), hospital stay, need for surgery, injured body regions, and mortality were analyzed.

Results

Of 783 vehicle occupants, 766 (98%) patients with known seat belt status were studied. Among them, the 631 (82.4%) who were unrestrained were significantly younger than the restrained patients (P < 0.0001). The Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) scores for the thorax, back, and lower extremity were significantly higher in unrestrained than in restrained patients (P = 0.001, P = 0.036, and P = 0.045 respectively). The GCS was significantly lower in unrestrained than in restrained patients (P = 0.006). More surgical operations were performed in the unrestrained patients (P = 0.027).

Conclusions

Seat belt usage reduces the severity of injury, hospital stay, and number of operations in injured patients. Seat belt compliance is low in our community. More legal enforcement of seat belt usage is mandatory to reduce the severity of injury caused by RTCs.

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Acknowledgment

This study was supported by an Interdisciplinary UAE University grant (no. 02-07-8-1/4).

Conflict of interest

All of the authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Trauma Group, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, UAE University, P.O. Box 17666, Al-Ain, UAE

    Fikri M. Abu-Zidan, Alaa K. Abbas, Ashraf F. Hefny & Hani O. Eid

  2. Trauma Group, Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, UAE University, P.O. Box 17666, Al-Ain, UAE

    Michal Grivna

Authors
  1. Fikri M. Abu-Zidan
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  2. Alaa K. Abbas
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  3. Ashraf F. Hefny
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  4. Hani O. Eid
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  5. Michal Grivna
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fikri M. Abu-Zidan.

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Abu-Zidan, F.M., Abbas, A.K., Hefny, A.F. et al. Effects of Seat Belt Usage on Injury Pattern and Outcome of Vehicle Occupants After Road Traffic Collisions: Prospective Study. World J Surg 36, 255–259 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00268-011-1386-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00268-011-1386-y

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