Hospitalized maternal injuries pose a serious threat to the fetus, therefore understanding their burden is important. In addition, this study examined weather the risk of serious injury from crashes changes during pregnancy. Using 1997 hospital discharge data from 19 states, injuries to younger women were classified as motor-vehicle related with and without pregnancy-associated diagnoses. The pregnancy screen identified 1,488 motor-vehicle occupant injury discharges (rate=129/100,000 person-years, rate-ratio=1.88, 95% CI=1.49, 1.98). Pregnancy associated cases were younger, their median charge-per-visit and mean injury severity scores (ISS) were lower and their average length-of-stay was shorter. Once adjusted for severity, the age-specific rate-ratios were not significantly different than one. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting