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1 - Mechanisms and Demographics in Trauma

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 January 2010

Pedro Barbieri
Affiliation:
Department of Anesthesia, Hospital Britanico de Buenos Aires, University of El Salvador School of Medicine, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Daniel H. Gomez
Affiliation:
Department of Anesthesia, Hospital Universitario Austral, Pilar, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Peter F. Mahoney
Affiliation:
Military Critical Care, Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Birmingham, United Kingdom
Pablo Pratesi
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Austral University Hospital, Pilar, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Christopher M. Grande
Affiliation:
Department of Anesthesiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pennsylvania, and International TraumaCare (ITACCS), Baltimore, Maryland
Charles E. Smith
Affiliation:
Case Western Reserve University, Ohio
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Summary

Objectives

The aim of this chapter is to put trauma in context as a major health issue and give practitioners an understanding of the underlying causes and mechanisms.

INTRODUCTION

Injury is the leading cause of death in people aged between 1 and 44 years in the United States and a leading cause of death worldwide [1]. It can be defined as a “physical harm or damage to the structure or function of the body, caused by an acute exchange of energy (mechanical, chemical, thermal, radioactive, or biological) that exceeds the body's tolerance” [2, 3].

In 2002, 33 million patients were processed by emergency departments in the United States, and 161,269 died by traumatic injury [4]. Trauma is the leading cause of years of potential life lost for people younger than 75 years and this implies a huge expense to the health care system and massive amounts of resources used for care and rehabilitation [5].

Demographics is the statistical study of human populations, especially with reference to size and density, distribution, and vital statistics. Data on the demographics of trauma in the United States have been obtained from a number of sources listed in the references to this chapter.

ALCOHOL

In a recent report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Uniform Crime Reporting Program, the FBI estimated that more than 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics, and an estimated 254,000 persons were injured in crashes where police reported that alcohol was present – an average of one person injured approximately every two minutes.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2008

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References

World Health Organization. (http://www.who.int/en).
National Safety Council. Accidents facts. Chicago 1990. The Council, Itasca, IL. (http://www.nsc.org/lrs/statinfo/odds.htm).
Fingerhut, , Warner, M. Injury Chartbook. Heart, United States, 1996–97. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics, 1998. National Health Interview Survey (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis.htm).Google Scholar
Minino, AM, Anderson, RN, Fingerhut, , Boudreault, MA, Warner M: Death: Injuries, 2002. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). National Vital Statistics Report, National Center for Health Statistics, CDC, Atlanta, GA, Volume 54, Number 10, 2006 (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss.htm).Google Scholar
Finkelstein, EA, Corso, PS, Miller, TR, Associates. Incidence and Economic Burden of Injuries in the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
American College of Surgeons (ACS). National Trauma Data Bank Report 2005, ed. Fildes J, chair. (http://www.ntdb.org) (last update: November 12, 2006).
NHTSA's National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA). http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/ncsa (last update: November 12, 2006)
Olding-Smee, W, Crockard, A.The trauma problem. In Olding-Smee, W, Crockard, A, ed. Trauma Care. London: Academic Press, 1981, pp 3–18.Google Scholar
Butler, RM, Moster, FH. The padded dash syndrome and blunt trauma to the larynx and trachea. Laryngoscope 1968; 78: 1172–82.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McSwain NE. Mechanism of injuries in blunt trauma. In McSwain, NE, Kerstein, MD, ed. Evaluation and Management of Trauma. Norwalk, CT: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1987, pp 1–24.Google Scholar
Parr MJA, Grande CM. Mechanisms of trauma. In: Grande, CM, ed. Textbook of Trauma Anesthesia. St. Louis: Mosby, 1994, Chapter 36, pp 325–41.Google Scholar
Langlois, JA, Rutland-Brown, W, Thomas, KE. Traumatic brain injury in the United States: emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and deaths. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2004.Google Scholar
Thurman, D, Alverson, C, Dunn, K, Guerrero, J, Sniezek, J. Traumatic brain injury in the United States: a public health perspective. J Head Trauma Rehabil 1999; 14(6): 602–15.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [Online]. 2005. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (producer). Available from: www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars. (cited August 21, 2006).
Hall, JR. Burns, Toxic Gases, and Other Hazards Associated with Fires: Deaths and Injuries in Fire and Non-Fire Situations. Quincy, MA: National Fire Protection Association, Fire Analysis and Research Division, 2001.Google Scholar
Ahrens, M.The U.S. Fire Problem Overview Report: Leading Causes and Other Patterns and Trends. Quincy, MA: National Fire Protection Association, 2003.Google Scholar
Ahrens, M.U.S. Experience with Smoke Alarms and Other Fire Alarms. Quincy, MA: National Fire Protection Association, 2004.Google Scholar
Karter, MJ. Fire Loss in the United States during 2005, Abridged Report. Quincy, MA: National Fire Protection Association, Fire Analysis and Research Division, 2006.Google Scholar
McCaig, LF, Nawar, EW. National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2004 Emergency Department Summary, Table 13. National Health Care Survey. Advance Data from Vital and Health Statistics. Number 372. June 23, 2006. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhcs.htm.Google Scholar
Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). (Demography in USA. 2005. (http://www.paho.org/eng) (last update: November 12, 2006).
Maryland Family Health Administration (http://www.fha.state.md.us).
Burn Foundation. A survey of 28 burn centers contributing data to the American Burn Association burn patient registry (1991–93); data from the National Burn Information Exchange (1965–85.) (http://www.burnfoundation.org/).

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  • Mechanisms and Demographics in Trauma
    • By Pedro Barbieri, Department of Anesthesia, Hospital Britanico de Buenos Aires, University of El Salvador School of Medicine, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Daniel H. Gomez, Department of Anesthesia, Hospital Universitario Austral, Pilar, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Peter F. Mahoney, Military Critical Care, Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Birmingham, United Kingdom, Pablo Pratesi, Department of Emergency Medicine, Austral University Hospital, Pilar, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Christopher M. Grande, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pennsylvania, and International TraumaCare (ITACCS), Baltimore, Maryland
  • Edited by Charles E. Smith, Case Western Reserve University, Ohio
  • Book: Trauma Anesthesia
  • Online publication: 18 January 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511547447.004
Available formats
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Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Mechanisms and Demographics in Trauma
    • By Pedro Barbieri, Department of Anesthesia, Hospital Britanico de Buenos Aires, University of El Salvador School of Medicine, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Daniel H. Gomez, Department of Anesthesia, Hospital Universitario Austral, Pilar, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Peter F. Mahoney, Military Critical Care, Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Birmingham, United Kingdom, Pablo Pratesi, Department of Emergency Medicine, Austral University Hospital, Pilar, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Christopher M. Grande, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pennsylvania, and International TraumaCare (ITACCS), Baltimore, Maryland
  • Edited by Charles E. Smith, Case Western Reserve University, Ohio
  • Book: Trauma Anesthesia
  • Online publication: 18 January 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511547447.004
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Mechanisms and Demographics in Trauma
    • By Pedro Barbieri, Department of Anesthesia, Hospital Britanico de Buenos Aires, University of El Salvador School of Medicine, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Daniel H. Gomez, Department of Anesthesia, Hospital Universitario Austral, Pilar, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Peter F. Mahoney, Military Critical Care, Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Birmingham, United Kingdom, Pablo Pratesi, Department of Emergency Medicine, Austral University Hospital, Pilar, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Christopher M. Grande, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pennsylvania, and International TraumaCare (ITACCS), Baltimore, Maryland
  • Edited by Charles E. Smith, Case Western Reserve University, Ohio
  • Book: Trauma Anesthesia
  • Online publication: 18 January 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511547447.004
Available formats
×