Half of Cyclists With Head Injuries Under 14
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
With National Bike Week getting under way it is worth bearing in mind that this healthy and safe activity also has its risks which is why it is important to wear a helmet.
Head injuries are the most common injury recorded in those admitted to hospital following an accident or crash involving a cyclist. Most deaths involving cyclists also involve head injuries.
Legislation has been introduced in many countries to make it compulsory to wear helmets. However, many still do not wear helmets. There is some concern that making helmet wearing mandatory puts some people off cycling and some argue that the overall potential health benefits of cycling may be reduced as a result.
However, research supports the use of a correctly fitted bicycle helmet to reduce the risk of bicycle-related head injuries. The report below was supplied to me at a recent HSE Forum meeting.
Pedal Cyclists Hospitalised Following Road
Further
to the report “Admission to Acute Hospitals for Injuries as a Result of
Annual Numbers
During 2005-2009, there were 1,050 hospital
discharges relating to pedal cyclists injured in road traffic crashes. Table 1
details the numbers of hospital discharges per year. The numbers of pedal
cyclist discharges increased by 44% from 169 in 2005 to 244 in 2009.
Table 1: Annual number of pedal cyclists discharged from
hospital with injuries resulting
from traffic
accidents, 2005-2009
Year
|
Number
|
%
|
2005
|
169
|
16.1
|
2006
|
210
|
20.0
|
2007
|
230
|
21.9
|
2008
|
197
|
18.8
|
2009
|
244
|
23.2
|
Total
|
1050
|
100.0
|
Age Profile
Three quarters (74.6%; n=783) of the
injured were male, and one quarter (25.4%; n=267) were female. The average age
of injured pedal cyclist was 25 years, with 50% of them aged less than 20
years. Figure 1 details an age profile of the injured pedal cyclists.
Figure 1: Age profile of the injured
pedal cyclists by 5-year age-groups
In respect of those who suffered from
head injuries, the average age was 22 years with 50% being aged 14 years or
less. Figure 2 details an age profile of those with head injuries.
Figure 2: Age profile of those
cyclists with head injuries by 5-year
age-groups
Principal Diagnosis
Table 2 details the principal
diagnosis recorded among this group of injured pedal cyclists with injuries to
the head were the most common (36.9%) followed by injuries to the elbow and
forearm (21.7%).
Table 2: Principal diagnosis of
hospitalised pedal cyclists
Principal Diagnosis
|
Number
|
%
|
Injuries to the Head
|
387
|
36.9
|
Injuries to the elbow & forearm
|
228
|
21.7
|
Injuries to the knee & lower leg
|
107
|
10.2
|
Injuries to the shoulder and upper-arm
|
81
|
7.7
|
Injuries to the abdomen, lower back, lumbar spine
and pelvis
|
64
|
6.1
|
Injuries to the hip & thigh
|
58
|
5.5
|
Injuries to the wrist & hand
|
41
|
3.9
|
Injuries to the thorax
|
33
|
3.1
|
Injuries to the neck
|
15
|
1.4
|
Injuries to the ankle & foot
|
<5
|
0.4
|
Other diagnoses
|
32
|
3.0
|
Total
|
1050
|
100.0
|
Length of Hospital Stay
Pedal cyclists had an average length
of stay of 4.7 days, with 70% of them having a length of stay of 1-2 days.
Overall, 6.6% (n=69) required admission to intensive care, where their median
length of stay was four days.
Three hundred and eighty seven
cyclists had head injuries. They had an average length of stay of 4.5 days and
61% had a length of stay of 1-2 days.
Of the 387 cyclists admitted with
head injuries, 46 were admitted to intensive care (11.9%). These patients had
an average length of stay in intensive care of 8.5 days.
Discharge Outcome
Table 3 details the discharge
destination of the injured pedal cyclists following hospital discharge.
Overall, over 90% (n=954) of discharges were discharged directly home following
their hospital episode. Sixty-six (6.3%) required transfer to another acute
hospital on both emergency and non-emergency basis. There were thirteen (1.2%)
deaths; all these deaths occurred within 30 days of admission.
Table 3: Discharge destination
following hospital discharge
Discharge
Destination
|
Number
|
%
|
Home
|
944
|
89.9
|
Transfer to
acute hospital as Non-Emergency
|
39
|
3.7
|
Transfer to
acute hospital as Emergency
|
27
|
2.6
|
Died
|
13
|
1.2
|
Nursing home,
convalescent home, long-stay
|
12
|
1.1
|
Self-discharge
|
10
|
1.0
|
Other
|
5
|
0.5
|
In respect of those admitted with
head injuries, 340 (87.9%) were discharged home, 34(8.8%) were transferred to
another hospital and 10(2.6%) died in hospital.
Cycling, Head Injuries and the Use of
Helmet
A Cochrane review
concluded that wearing a helmet reduced the risk of head injury by
approximately two-thirds of crashes involving cyclists. The risk is reduced for
all ages. Although there were no randomised control trials available for this
review, the review included
five well conducted case-control studies and found that helmets provide a
63–88% reduction in the risk of head, brain and severe brain injury for all
ages of cyclists. Numerous other small studies show that wearing a helmet
reduces head injuries.
See also here from the Irish Times
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