Citation

Buntain WL. Proc. Am. Assoc. Automot. Med. Annu. Conf. 1985; 29: 307-321.

Affiliation

University of Tennessee Memorial Hospital, Department of Surgery, Knoxville, TN, USA

Copyright

(Copyright © 1985, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

A 5-year retrospective review of the experience of this institution with bicycle injuries was undertaken to examine the potential morbidity associated with this form of locomotion and activity. Twenty-eight patients, ranging in age from 5 to 14 years, were identified, all having sustained injury sufficient to prompt hospitalization. In no instance was an automobile involved in the injury producing incident. Consistent with pediatric trauma overall, 71 per cent of the patients suffered head trauma, more than half of whom had closed CNS injuries. Serious abdominal and/or gastrointestinal injuries accounted for 14 per cent of the injuries, though surgical intervention was not undertaken in all cases. Discussion will identify the types of injuries encountered, length and case of subsequent hospitalization, and an overall comparison of these injuries and those from automobiles in terms of incidence.