A trauma registry database containing 8473 patients age 10 or greater injured in automobile crashes was evaluated to determine the risk of certain patterns of injury associated with wearing seat belts as compared to the risk of not wearing seat belts. Categories studied were vehicle drivers, front seat passengers, and rear seat occoupants and belted and unbelted patients. Analyses were done of 2062 individual ICD-9-CM codes to identify diagnoses that occurred at a rate significantly greater for belted occupants than for non-belted occupants. Analyses were also made of injuries by AIS body region and severity in belted and non-belted occupants. No discernable pattern of excess injury was found in the analysis of individual ICD codes. A pattern of minor and moderate injury (AIS levels 2 and 3) was found from the analysis of AIS regions and severities. Odds ratios calculated demonstrated that the unbelted occupant is at greater risk of injury than the belted occupant for all seating positions. (A)
Abstract