@article{ref1,
title="The impact of COVID-19 on bicycle-related injuries managed at a level 1 major trauma center in London, United Kingdom",
journal="Curēus",
year="2024",
author="Bolton, Sarah and Coffey, Duncan and Drummond, Isabella and Haggag, Omar and ElBaz, Ahmed M. and Habiba, Abdallah and Edwards, Kyra",
volume="16",
number="5",
pages="e59465-e59465",
abstract="Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic changed peoples' travel behaviors; an uptake in cycling was observed in the United Kingdom. The aim of this study was to assess the cycling-related orthopedic injuries presented to a major trauma center (MTC) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. <br><br>METHOD This retrospective observational single-center study analyzed referrals to the orthopedic department during a matched two-month period in 2019 and 2020. Data were collated on cycling-related injuries including demographic variables, mechanism of injury, anatomical area of injury, and the management of injury. The data were compared and statistical analysis was performed using the Pearson Chi-squared test to assess for significance. <br><br>RESULTS A total of 2409 patients were referred to the orthopedic department with injuries. A 35.6% decrease in total referrals was made during the COVID-19 pandemic. Analysis of cycling-specific injuries demonstrated a statistically significant increase in referrals to the orthopedic department during the COVID-19 pandemic. A statistically significant difference in upper limb trauma was also observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patterns of management, namely operative vs. non-operative management, did not demonstrate a difference in the two time periods. <br><br>DISCUSSION This study highlights that during the COVID-19 pandemic, cycling behavior changed with more patients suffering orthopedic injuries as a result. Orthopedic departments may need to plan for this change in behaviors with more capacity being created to manage the demand. <br><br>CONCLUSION Cycling-related injuries referred to the orthopedic department increased during the pandemic.  Keywords: CoViD-19-Road-Traffic .<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="2168-8184",
doi="10.7759/cureus.59465",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.59465"
}