TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2012//
TI  - Using trauma center data to identify missed bicycle injuries and their associated costs
JO  - Journal of trauma and acute care surgery
A1  - Lopez, Dahianna S.
A1  - Sunjaya, Dharma B.
A1  - Chan, Shirley
A1  - Dobbins, Sarah
A1  - Dicker, Rochelle A.
SP  - 1602
EP  - 1606
VL  - 73
IS  - 6
N2  - BACKGROUND: Recently, there has been a 58% increase in the number of observed cyclists in San Francisco. In 2009, 3.2% of commuters were traveling by bicycle in this city, which is well above the national average of less than 1%. Police reports are the industry standard for assessing transportation-related collisions and informing policies and interventions that address the issue. Previous studies have suggested that police reports miss a substantial portion of bicycle crashes not involving motor vehicles. No study to date has explored the health and economic impact of cyclist-only (CO) injuries for adults in the United States. Our objective was to use trauma registry data to investigate possible underrepresentation of certain cyclist injuries and characterize cost. METHODS: We reviewed hospital and police records for 2,504 patients treated for bicycle-related injuries at San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH). We compared incidence, injury severity, admission rate, and cost of injury for CO and auto-versus-bicycle (AVB) injuries treated at SFGH. We then calculated the cost of injury. RESULTS: Of all bicycle-related injuries at SFGH, 41.5% were CO injuries and 58.5% were AVB injuries. Those with CO injuries were more than four times as likely to be required of hospital admission compared with those with AVB injuries (odds ratio, 4.76; 95% confidence interval, 3.93-5.76; p < 0.0001). From 2000 to 2009, 54.5% of bicycle injuries treated at SFGH were not associated with a police report, revealing that bicycle crashes and injuries are underrecognized in San Francisco. Costs for care were significantly higher for AVB injuries and increased dramatically over time; total cost for CO and AVB injuries were $12.6 and $17.8 million. CONCLUSION: Based on this study, we conclude that trauma centers can play a key role in future collaborations to define issues and develop prevention strategies for CO crashes. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Epidemiologic/economic analysis, level III.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 2163-0755
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/TA.0b013e318265fc04
ID  - ref1
ER  -