Baker SP, Brady JE, Shanahan DF, Li G. Aviation-related injury morbidity and mortality: data from U.S. health information systems. Aviat Space Environ Med 2009; 80:1001–5.
Introduction:
Information about injuries sustained by survivors of airplane
crashes is scant, although some information is available on fatal aviation-related injuries. Objectives of this study were to explore the patterns of aviation-related injuries admitted to U.S. hospitals and relate them to aviation deaths in the same period.
Methods:
The Healthcare
Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) contains information for approximately 20% of all hospital admissions in the United States each year. We identified patients in the HCUP NIS who were hospitalized during 2000–2005 for aviation-related injuries based
on the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, codes E840–E844. Injury patterns were also examined in relation to information from multiple-cause-of-death public-use data files 2000–2005.
Results:
Nationally, an estimated 6080 patients in
6 yr, or 1013 admissions annually (95% confidence interval 894–1133), were hospitalized for aviation-related injuries, based on 1246 patients in the sample. The average hospital stay was 6.3 d and 2% died in hospital. Occupants of noncommercial aircraft accounted for 32% of patients,
parachutists for 29%; occupants of commercial aircraft and of unpowered aircraft each constituted 11%. Lower-limb fracture was the most common injury in each category, constituting 27% of the total, followed by head injury (11%), open wound (10%), upper extremity fracture, and internal injury
(9%). Among fatalities, head injury (38%) was most prominent. An average of 753 deaths occurred annually; for each death there were 1.3 hospitalizations.
Conclusions:
Aviation-related injuries result in approximately 1000 hospitalizations each year in the United States, with
an in-hospital mortality rate of 2%. The most common injury sustained by aviation crash survivors is lower-limb fracture.