The following is a summary of “Improving blunt cerebrovascular injury screening in motor vehicle collision patients: Does airbag deployment matter?,” published in the December 2022 issue of Surgery by Hanna, et al.
Blunt cerebrovascular injury (BCVI) may result from motor vehicle crashes (MVCs). Therefore, it may be possible to minimize missed injuries by investigating MVC factors that boost BCVI. For a study, researchers sought to examine the relationship between BCVI and airbag deployment.
They examined the adult MVC drivers included in the 2016 Trauma Quality Improvement Database. Patients were categorized as having deployed airbags (A+) and not having deployed airbags (A-). Cervical spine injuries (CSI) were the results and BCVI.
A+: 106,492, and A-: 16,481 patients out of a total of 122,973 were found. 1,907 people (1.6%) experienced BCVI, whereas 20,711 people (16.8%) did CSI. While CSI was less common (16.2% vs. 21.4%; P< 0.001) in A+ patients, BCVI was more common (1.6% vs. 1.1%; P< 0.001). A+ was protective for CSI but was related to BCVI (1.419 [1.184–1.701]; P < 0.001) on regression analysis (0.767[0.672-0.878]; P< 0.001) but was protective for CSI (0.767 [0.672–0.878]; P < 0.001).
Even in patients without a CSI, A+ may be an undetected risk factor for BCVI. Including A+ in the BCVI screening criteria may decrease missed injuries.
Reference: americanjournalofsurgery.com/article/S0002-9610(22)00664-X/fulltext
