This paper reviews 103 cases of restrained children involved in motor vehicle crashes and admitted to the level I trauma center at Children's National Medical Center (CNMC). Thirty percent of these cases involved injuries with an Abbreviated Injury Score (AIS) severity of 3 or greater. All cases are classified: first by type of restraint system such as infant seat, convertible seat, booster seat, lap belt, and lap and shoulder belt; and second, by type of injury sustained such as head/face and neck, upper extremity, thorax, pelvic and abdominal, and lower extremity. The links between these classifications are examined to identify particular injury patterns associated with the use of individual restraint individual restraint systems, for instance the incidence of pelvic and abdominal injury associated with the use of both lap and lap and shoulder belts. For the severe injury cases the paper fur ther examines the injury mechanisms for the most commonly observed patterns. Finally, the sample and the injury patterns are compared with those in the National Accident Sampling System Crashworthiness Data System (NASSCDS) data for the same period. (A)
Abstract