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Airbags, seat belts effective in preventing spinal injuries
ORLANDO, Fla.--Airbags along with seat belt use are effective in decreasing spinal injuries in automobile crashes, according to a new study released here today at the 67th annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
Orthopaedic researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pa., analyzed the medical records of 7,170 patients who sustained spinal injuries in automobile crash injuries. The patients were divided into four groups based upon protection devices used--no protective devices, seat belts only, air bags only and seat belts and air bags.
A total of 4,636 patients did not use a protective device at the time of the crash; 2,268 patients only used a seat belt; 138 were protected by an air bag and seat belt; and 110 patients were protected by an air bag only, reported study author William F. Donaldson III, MD, department of orthopaedic surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pa.
When compared to individuals using air bags and seat belts that were involved in crashes, the researchers found patients using no protective devices were 37 percent more likely to suffer a spinal injury; using seat belts only were 42 percent likely; and those protected by an airbag only were 35 percent more likely suffer spinal injury.
"Our study statistics are for spinal injuries only and if you look at motor vehicle injuries in general, people using no protective devices are injured twice as much," Dr. Donaldson said. "Not wearing a seat belt or getting into a car without air bags greatly increases the chance of having a spinal injury."
Of the 7,170 patients, 4,688 (65.4 percent) were drivers and 2,474 (34.5 percent) were front seat passengers who sustained spinal injuries. Eight patients (0.1 percent) were defined as "other occupants" by the researchers.
Dr. Donaldson and his colleagues also noted older persons were more likely to wear a seat belt, and use an automobile with airbags.
A majority of the patients' spinal injuries occurred in the cervical region, 36 to 38 percent; thoracic, 12 to 17 percent; lumbar, 17 to 21 percent; sacral, 15 to 18 percent; and multiple level injuries, 10 to 16 percent.
The length of hospital stay was shortest for the group that wore a seat belt during air bag deployment and longest for those who did not wear a seat belt, Dr. Donaldson reported.
"No studies to our knowledge have examined the role that airbags play in preventing spinal injuries," Dr. Donaldson said.
The patients included in this study were from Pennsylvania, and had been admitted to one of 26 trauma centers in the state.
In the 1970s, airbags were scarcely available as an option in automobiles, but by 1994, more than 91 percent of new cars were equipped with driver's side airbags.
Co-authors of the study are Molly T. Vogt, PhD, associate professor, department of orthopaedic surgery and epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pa, and Michael A. Catino, MD.
In the first year of the United Nations-declared Bone and Joint Decade (2000-2010), the Academy is holding its annual meeting, March 15-19, at the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Fla.
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