Al Saffar MMA, Verdonschot RJCG, Stassen HS, Wolvius EB, Rozeboom AVJ. The Association of Helmet Use with the Occurrence of Maxillofacial Injuries Following Bicycle or Scooter Accidents: A Retrospective Cohort Study.
Craniomaxillofac Trauma Reconstr 2022;
15:21-27. [PMID:
35265273 PMCID:
PMC8899353 DOI:
10.1177/1943387521998199]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Study Design
Retrospective Cohort Study.
Objective
Yearly, bicycle and scooter accidents in the Netherlands amount to 90 thousand emergency department visits. Maxillofacial injuries are common after cycling or scooter accidents. To prevent these injuries, helmet use might be beneficial. However, the effect of helmet use on maxillofacial injuries remains unclear. The aim of this retrospective study is to assess the effect of helmet use on maxillofacial injuries in patients who had a bicycle or scooter accident.
Methods
We collected data from the emergency department of the Erasmus Medical Center in the period from October 2017 to October 2019. Patients that were involved in a bicycle or scooter accident and subsequently received a CT scan of the head were included. We compared the incidence of maxillofacial injuries in helmeted cyclists and scooter users to non-helmeted users. Descriptive and analytic statistics were computed. Level of statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.
Results
Helmet use among scooter users was associated with a significant reduction in maxillofacial fractures (p < 0.001) and soft tissue injuries (p < 0.001). Helmet use among cyclists was not associated with a reduction in maxillofacial fractures (p = 0.17) or soft tissue injuries (p = 0.30). Helmet use was not associated with a reduction in soft tissue injuries of the lower face in both cyclists (p = 0.47) and scooter users (p = 0.24).
Conclusions
Helmet use should be considered among cyclists and scooter users to prevent maxillofacial injuries. Especially unhelmeted scooter users might benefit from helmet use as this is associated with a lower incidence of maxillofacial injuries.
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