TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2007//
TI  - Statewide Assessment of Injury and Death Rates among Riders of Off-Road Vehicles Treated at Trauma Centers
JO  - Journal of the American Academy of Surgeons
A1  - Mullins, R. J.
A1  - Brand, D.
A1  - Lenfesty, Barbara
A1  - Newgard, Craig D.
A1  - Hedges, J. R.
A1  - Ham, Bruce
SP  - 216
EP  - 224
VL  - 204
IS  - 2
N2  - BACKGROUND: Injuries and deaths among riders of off-road motorized all-terrain vehicles are increasing in the US. We hypothesized that serious injuries in Oregon have increased among riders of both four-wheel and two-wheel vehicles. STUDY DESIGN: We analyzed the Oregon Trauma Registry. Seriously injured patients treated in the state's designated urban and rural trauma centers were identified using E-codes (821.0 to 821.9), which indicate whether patients were riding either an off-road all-terrain four-wheel vehicle (ATV) or off-road two-wheeled motorcycle (ORMC). Second, we performed a supplemental analysis of similar patients in the trauma registry of Oregon's University-based tertiary care trauma center. Patients in earlier time periods were compared with those in later time periods. RESULTS: Patients injured riding off-road vehicles and needing treatment in Oregon's trauma centers increased 76%. Sixty percent of patients were injured riding an ATV, and 35% were injured riding an ORMC. Children (aged younger than 15 years) were 20% and 23% of patients in the earlier and later years. At Oregon's University-based Level I trauma center, in the years 2002 to 2005, more than twice as many patients needed tertiary care for severe injuries caused by off-road vehicle crashes compared with the previous 4 years. CONCLUSIONS: There has been an alarming increase in the number of both ATV and ORMC riders requiring treatment in Oregon's trauma centers. Surgeons need to join a coalition of health care providers, citizens and public officials to implement a comprehensive injury-prevention response to this epidemic.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1072-7515
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2006.10.025
ID  - ref1
ER  -