Low-Threat-to-Life Motor Vehicle Injuries: A Profile of Motor Vehicle Injuries inEmergency Departments

摘要

A profile of emergency department visits resulting from motor vehicle trafficinjuries was developed as part of an examination of the hypothesis that low threat-to-life motor vehicle traffic injuries are undercounted. Data were taken from the public use tape of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) 1992 survey of emergency department visits. A total of 3.2 million people were treated and released, an additional 465 thousand were hospitalized, and 280 thousand returned for a follow-up visit. There were 176 unique diagnoses, the 20 most frequent comprising more than 70 percent of the total incidence of 5.8 million injuries. Based on an NCHS estimate of the cost per emergency department visit, the cost of these visits was more than $1 billion. The results of the study suggest that there is an undercount of low threat-to-life injuries, however, these results cannot be considered definitive. Other data sources are being examined. The results of these studies are expected to provide further insights concerning the undercounting hypothesis.