An Analysis of Hospitalized Motorcyclists in the State of Maryland Based on Helmet Use and Outcome.

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in mortality amongmotorcyclists. Despite high rates of morbidity and mortality associated with crashes among older riders, there have been relatively few studies on injured motorcyclists admitted to hospitals. In an ongoing study, data is being collected from motorcyclists involved in crashes in Maryland who were either killed or transported to the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center (STC) in Baltimore, Maryland. Data on injured motorcyclists is captured from the trauma registry, hospital discharge records, autopsy reports, and through a linkage with police crash reports. Injured parties are assessed six-months and one-year post crash with the Short Form 36 (SF- 36) questionnaire. The SF-36 is an evaluation tool used to determine long term outcome.Autopsy reports are obtained from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Maryland (OCME). Previous studies looking at head injuries resulting from motorcycle crashes have not been able to discriminate between operators using helmets that are and are not compliant with standards set forth by the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). Helmets will be categorized as DOT-certified, fullface, half-shell or uncertified novelty helmets. Fatal versus non-fatal crashes with resulting injuries are comparedand matched by operator demographics, helmet use and type, and crash characteristics. It is anticipated that persons involved in a crash while wearing an uncertified novelty helmet have a higher risk of head injury than those who crashed while wearing a DOT-certified helmet. From January 2007 through May 2008 there were 517 motorcycle operators admitted to the STC. The mean age of this group was 37 years and 25% sustained a head injury with an Abbreviated Injury Score (AIS) between 1 and 6. Twenty-one percent ofthese helmets were identified as DOT non-certified. A comparison of head injury and helmet type revealed that 50% (13/26) of those wearing a uncertified novelty helmet received a head injury (AIS 1-6) as compared to 23% (22/96) of those wearing a DOT certified helmet. The full text of this paper may be found at: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/esv/esv21/09-0061.pdf For the covering abstract see ITRD E145407.