The nature and burden of occupational injury among first responder occupations: A retrospective cohort study in Australian workers

IntroductionWorkers in first responder (FR) occupations are at heightened risk for workplace injury given their exposure to physical/psychological hazards. This study sought to (1) characterise the occupational risk of injury; (2) determine factors associated with injury; and (3) characterise the burden of injury-related disability in police, ambulance officers, fire/emergency workers, compared with other occupations.MethodsA retrospective cohort of 2,439,624 claims occurring between July 2003 and June 2012 was extracted from the Australian National Dataset for Compensation-Based Statistics. Cases aged 16–75 years working 1–100 pre-injury hours per week were included. Regression models estimated risk of making a workers’ compensation (WC) claim by age, gender, occupation and injury type. Injury burden was calculated using count and time loss, and statistically compared between groups.ResultsThe risk of making a WC claim among FR occupations was more than 3 times higher than other occupations. Risk of claiming was highest among female FRs and those aged 35–44 years. Ambulance officers had the greatest risk of upper-body MSK injuries and fire and emergency workers the greatest risk of lower-body MSK injuries. The risk of mental health conditions was elevated for all FR occupations but highest among police officers. The total burden of injury (expressed as working weeks lost per 1000 workers) differed significantly between groups and was highest amongst police.Discussion and conclusionsFirst responders record significantly higher rates of occupational injury claims than other occupations. Using a national population based dataset, this study demonstrates that not only are first responders exposed to significantly higher rates of occupational injury than all other occupations combined, but they experience differential injury patterns depending on their occupation. This suggests that among FR occupations injury prevention efforts should reflect these differences and be targeted to occupation-specific patterns of injury.     

Recurrent disabling work-related spinal disorders after prior injury claims in a chronic low back pain population.

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: Multiple compensation injury claims are an understudied phenomenon in the chronic back pain and occupational injury literature. Assumptions about poor treatment outcomes for patients presenting with prior injury can lead to denial of treatment, even though these assumptions have not been empirically addressed. Functional restoration has been demonstrated to be an effective rehabilitation treatment for disabling, work-related chronic back pain, although its' relative utility with recurrent injury (RI) patients has not been previously evaluated. PURPOSE: To assess demographic, psychosocial and work history/adjustment differences between the two groups, and to investigate whether patients with recurrent work-related spinal injury claims benefit from functional restoration treatment at a level equivalent to patients with nonrecurrent injuries. STUDY DESIGN/SETTING: A prospective cohort design assessing characteristics and outcomes of patients with recurrent work-related spinal disorders, compared with a group of patients without prior work-related spine injury claims, all treated with the same interdisciplinary rehabilitation protocol. PATIENT SAMPLE: A cohort of consecutively treated functional restoration rehabilitation patients (n=395) divided into two groups based on a history of prior work-related injury. The RI (n=172) group had at least one prior work-related injury claim (with or without lost time), whereas the nonrecurrent injury (NRI; n=223) group did not. OUTCOME MEASURES: The RI and NRI groups were assessed for prospectively collected demographic, psychosocial and work history/adjustment data. A structured clinical interview addressing socioeconomic outcomes and assessing work return, health utilization, recurrent injury and case closure was administered 1 year after discharge from the treatment program. METHODS: Consecutive patients from a regional referral center for tertiary rehabilitation treatment of chronic work-related musculoskeletal injuries were evaluated with a comprehensive biopsychosocial assessment protocol at pretreatment and posttreatment. Moreover, at 1 year after completing the program, a structural telephone interview was conducted that assessed health and socioeconomic outcomes. RESULTS: For the 1-year socioeconomic outcomes (such as posttreatment injury), the RI patients responded to rehabilitation at a level equivalent to the NRI patients. Demographic analyses revealed that RI patients, relative to NRI patients, were older, more represented by the dominant culture, had more education, had a shorter length of disability, had less severe types of injuries, had a greater rate of non-work-related health conditions, received higher disability payments, and had slightly greater job demand. The RI group also had a greater rate of pre-injury Axis I psychiatric disorders, particularly substance abuse/dependence disorders, than the NRI group. In addition, the RI group had greater job stability than the NRI group. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate that, although patients with recurrent injuries evidence differences in demographic, psychosocial and work history/adjustment differences when compared with patients with nonrecurrent injuries, their 1-year outcomes after tertiary, medically directed rehabilitation are identical. Both groups demonstrate very low rates of further work-related injuries through the first posttreatment year. Patients with recurrent injuries appear to develop skills in dealing with the workers' compensation system with a familiarity not seen in NRI patients. Of course, these results will need to be replicated in other settings to determine whether they can be generalized to the entire workers' compensation population.     

Fracture of the index sesamoid — a case report

Background and purpose The current treatment for femoral fractures in children is mostly operative, which contrasts with treatment of other long bone fractures in children. We analyzed treatment injuries in such patients in Finland in order to identify avoidable injuries. Our other aims were to calculate the incidence of these fractures and to describe the treatment method used.

Methods The Patient Insurance Centre (PIC) provides financial compensation of patients who have sustained an injury in connection with medical care. We retrospectively analyzed incidence, treatment methods, and all compensation claims concerning treatment of femoral fractures in children who were 0–16 years of age during the 8-year period 1997–2004.

Results The incidence of childhood femoral fractures in Finland was 0.27 per 1,000 children aged < 17 years, and two-thirds of the patients were treated operatively during the study period. 30 compensation claims were submitted to PIC during the 8-year study period. The compensation claims mainly concerned pain, insufficient diagnosis or treatment, extra expenses, permanent disability, or inappropriate behavior of medical personnel. Of the claims, 16 of 30 were granted compensation. Compensation was granted for delay in treatment, unnecessary surgery, and for inappropriate surgical technique. The mean amount of compensation was 2,300 euros. Of the injuries that led to compensation, 11 of 16 were regarded as being avoidable in retrospect.

Interpretation The calculated risk of a treatment injury in childhood femoral fracture treatment in Finland is approximately 2%, and most of these injuries can be avoided with proper treatment.     

Health care utilisation following hospitalisation for transport-related injury

BackgroundTransport injuries are a substantial cause of disability and death internationally. There is little published information regarding patterns of healthcare utilisation following transport injury.AimsTo investigate patterns of in-hospital and post-discharge healthcare use following transport injury.MethodsAnalysis of all accepted adult claims from the database of the transport accident compensation regulator in Victoria, Australia between 1995 and 2008. The analyses focused on injuries resulting in hospitalisation. Indicators of in-hospital and post-discharge healthcare utilisation (e.g. number of services per practitioner group) within the first 12-months were summarised.ResultsMore than a third (33.6%, n = 68,639) of all accepted compensable transport injuries resulted in admission to an acute care facility within 28 days of injury. In this group, the compensation authority paid for a total of 4.5 million healthcare services in the 12 months post-discharge (median of 19 services per claim). Services provided by medical practitioners were accessed by nearly all claimants (95.7%) at a median of 11 (5–26) per claimant. Less than half of claimants (46.7%) accessed paramedical or allied health services but the median number of services accessed was higher at 29 (9–82) per claimant.ConclusionTransport-related injury cases require a substantial interaction with multiple components of the healthcare system in the year following hospital discharge. Compensation system datamay provide adetailed understanding of healthcare utilisation, a key element of injury burden.     

A systematic review of prognostic factors for return to work following work-related traumatic hand injury

Study designSystematic review.IntroductionTraumatic hand injuries are frequent cause of work related injuries and can result in prolonged durations of time loss from work.PurposeTo systematically review available evidence to determine which prognostic factors predict return-to-work (RTW) following work-related traumatic hand injuries.MethodsWe searched Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and PsycINFO from 1980 to September 2013 and reference lists of articles. Studies investigating any prognostic factors of RTW after traumatic hand injury were included. Two reviewers performed study selection, assessment of methodological quality and data extraction independently of each other. Identified factors were grouped into conceptual prognostic factor categories.ResultsWe assessed 8 studies, which addressed 11 potential prognostic factors (i.e., sociodemographic factors, occupation, work compensation status, treatment related factors, impairment severity, location of injury, etc.). The quality of the studies was low to moderate. Across all included studies, RTW (original or modified work) occurred in over 60% of individuals by 6 months. There was consistent low-moderate quality evidence that individuals with more severe impairments and lower pre-injury income were less likely to RTW, and low-moderate quality evidence that age, gender and level of education had no impact on RTW. Evidence on other commonly cited prognostic factors were limited in the literature.ConclusionImpairment severity and lower pre-injury income showed a consistent association with RTW following occupational hand injury, while other factors demonstrated no or variable effects across studies. Additional high-quality studies are warranted toward improving our understanding of the complex factors that mediate RTW following a traumatic work-related hand injury.Level of evidence2a.     

Predicting work-related disability and medical cost outcomes: A comparison of injury severity scoring methods

Introduction

Acute work-related trauma is a leading cause of death and disability among U.S. workers. Occupational health services researchers have described the pressing need to identify valid injury severity measures for purposes such as case-mix adjustment and the construction of appropriate comparison groups in programme evaluation, intervention, quality improvement, and outcome studies. The objective of this study was to compare the performance of several injury severity scores and scoring methods in the context of predicting work-related disability and medical cost outcomes.

Methods

Washington State Trauma Registry (WTR) records for injuries treated from 1998 to 2008 were linked with workers’ compensation claims. Several Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS)-based injury severity measures (ISS, New ISS, maximum AIS) were estimated directly from ICD-9-CM codes using two software packages: (1) ICDMAP-90, and (2) Stata's user-written ICDPIC programme (ICDPIC). ICDMAP-90 and ICDPIC scores were compared with existing WTR scores using the Akaike Information Criterion, amount of variance explained, and estimated effects on outcomes. Competing risks survival analysis was used to evaluate work disability outcomes. Adjusted total medical costs were modelled using linear regression.

Results

The linked sample contained 6052 work-related injury events. There was substantial agreement between WTR scores and those estimated by ICDMAP-90 (kappa = 0.73), and between WTR scores and those estimated by ICDPIC (kappa = 0.68). Work disability and medical costs increased monotonically with injury severity, and injury severity was a significant predictor of work disability and medical cost outcomes in all models. WTR and ICDMAP-90 scores performed better with regard to predicting outcomes than did ICDPIC scores, but effect estimates were similar. Of the three severity measures, maxAIS was usually weakest, except when predicting total permanent disability.

Conclusions

Injury severity was significantly associated with work disability and medical cost outcomes for work-related injuries. Injury severity can be estimated using either ICDMAP-90 or ICDPIC when ICD-9-CM codes are available. We observed little practical difference between severity measures or scoring methods. This study demonstrated that using existing software to estimate injury severity may be useful to enhance occupational injury surveillance and research.     

A primer for workers' compensation

Background contextA physician's role within a workers' compensation injury extends far beyond just evaluation and treatment with several socioeconomic and psychological factors at play compared with similar injuries occurring outside of the workplace. Although workers' compensation statutes vary among states, all have several basic features with the overall goal of returning the injured worker to maximal function in the shortest time period, with the least residual disability and shortest time away from work.PurposeTo help physicians unfamiliar with the workers' compensation process accomplish these goals.Study designReview.MethodsEducational review.ResultsThe streamlined review addresses the topics of why is workers' compensation necessary; what does workers' compensation cover; progression after work injury; impairment and maximum medical improvement, including how to use the sixth edition of American Medical Association's (AMA) Guides to the evaluation of permanent impairment (Guides); completion of work injury claim after impairment rating; independent medical evaluation; and causation.ConclusionsIn the “no-fault” workers' compensation system, physicians play a key role in progressing the claim along and, more importantly, getting the injured worker back to work as soon as safely possible. Physicians should remain familiar with the workers' compensation process, along with how to properly use the AMA Guides.     

Financial and recovery worry one year after traumatic injury: A prognostic,registry-based cohort study

BackgroundLevels of stress post-injury, especially after compensable injury, are known to be associated with worse long-term recovery. It is therefore important to identify how, and in whom, worry and stress manifest post-injury. This study aimed to identify demographic, injury, and compensation factors associated with worry about financial and recovery outcomes 12 months after traumatic injury.MethodsParticipants (n = 433) were recruited from the Victorian Orthopaedic Trauma Outcomes Registry and Victorian State Trauma Registry after admission to a major trauma hospital in Melbourne, Australia. Participants completed questionnaires about pain, compensation experience and psychological wellbeing as part of a registry-based observational study.ResultsLinear regressions showed that demographic and injury factors accounted for 11% and 13% of variance in financial and recovery worry, respectively. Specifically, lower education, discharge to inpatient rehabilitation, attributing fault to another and having a compensation claim predicted financial worry. Worry about recovery was only predicted by longer hospital stay and attributing fault to another. In all participants, financial and recovery worry were associated with worse pain (severity, interference, catastrophizing, kinesiophobia, self-efficacy), physical (disability, functioning) and psychological (anxiety, depression, PTSD, perceived injustice) outcomes 12 months post-injury. In participants who had transport (n = 135) or work (n = 22) injury compensation claims, both financial and recovery worry were associated with sustaining permanent impairments, and reporting negative compensation system experience 12 months post-injury. Financial worry 12 months post-injury was associated with not returning to work by 3–6 months post-injury, whereas recovery worry was associated with attributing fault to another, and higher healthcare use at 6–12 months post-injury.ConclusionsThese findings highlight the important contribution of factors other than injury severity, to worry about finances and recovery post-injury. Having a compensation claim, failure to return to work and experiencing pain and psychological symptoms also contribute to elevated worry. As these factors explained less than half of the variance in worry, however, other factors not measured in this study must play a role. As worry may increase the risk of developing secondary mental health conditions, timely access to financial, rehabilitation and psychological supports should be provided to people who are not coping after injury.     

Injury among adolescents with intellectual disability: A prospective cohort study

IntroductionInjury is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in adolescents worldwide, and injury rates have been shown to be higher among youth with intellectual disability. Despite this, injury among adolescents with intellectual disability remains poorly investigated. This study aimed to identify characteristics associated with injury among adolescents with intellectual disability living in the community.MethodsA cohort of adolescents with intellectual disability living in southern Queensland, Australia was investigated prospectively between January 2006 and June 2010. Personal characteristics were collected via postal questionnaire. Injury information, including mechanism and location of injury, was extracted from general practitioner records. The association between demographic, social and clinical characteristics of participants and episodes of injury was investigated using negative binomial regression.ResultsA total of 289 injuries were recorded from 432 participants over 1627.3 years of study-time. The overall annual injury incidence was 17.5 (95%CI 14.7, 20.9) per 100 person years. Presence of ADHD and less severe disability was associated with increased risk of injury. Down syndrome and reduced verbal communication capacity were associated with decreased risk of injury. Falls accounted for the highest single mechanism of injury (19.0%) with the majority (73.2%) of injuries involving either upper or lower limbs.ConclusionsADHD is a co-morbidity that increases risk of injury among adolescents with intellectual disability. A critical component of injury prevention is avoidance of the great variety of environmental risk factors for injury relevant to this population.     

Work-related burn injuries and claims for post-traumatic stress disorder in Korea

Objective

The objective of this study is to broaden our understanding of psychiatric disorders due to work-related burn injury compensated by the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance operated by the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service (KCOMWEL).

Return to work outcomes for workers with mental health conditions: A retrospective cohort study

ObjectivesThe aims of this study were to describe predictors of sustained return to work (RTW) among a cohort of workers with compensated work-related mental health conditions (MHCs); and to examine predictors of subsequent absences due to the same condition.MethodsThis study was a retrospective analysis of compensation claims data in Victoria, Australia. We selected workers with an accepted wage replacement claim due to a work-related MHC from 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2009, with two years of follow-up data.ResultsWe identified 8358 workers meeting our inclusion criteria. The median age of workers was 44 years (Interquartile range (IQR): 36–51) and 56% were female. In a multivariable Cox regression analysis, older age, being from a small organisation, working in some specific industry segments, consulting a psychiatrist or psychologist, using medications, and having a previous claim were all associated with a delayed RTW. Workers experiencing work pressure, assault/workplace violence or other mental stress factors, working in the public administration and safety industry and having a medical incapacity certification between 3–4 days and 5–7 days had a higher rate of multiple RTW attempts.ConclusionThis study identified a number of risk factors associated with a delayed RTW and multiple attempts at RTW. Predictors may help identify high-risk groups and facilitate the RTW process of workers with MHCs.     

A needs assessment of Canadian general surgery postgraduate trauma training

BackgroundClinical exposure to operative trauma cases for general surgery residents has decreased over recent decades. However, trainees are still expected to demonstrate competency in trauma care and injury management.MethodsA prospective survey based on preliminary qualitative analysis and a trauma education conceptual framework was distributed to general surgery educators, trauma surgeons, and general surgery residents across the country. Participants were asked to describe their trauma training experience, the educational resources available at their training programs, and their level of support for potential curriculum components.Results45% (31/69) of educators and 14% (58/405) of trainees responded to the survey. Perceived deficiencies were identified in the operative management of thoracic (educators 13%, trainees 28%), mediastinal (3%, 14%), neck (16%, 33%), and vascular (26%, 47%) injuries. Additional educational deficiencies were also identified in the domains of trauma systems and epidemiology, research and quality improvement, and injury prevention. Educators identified more inadequacies in training than trainees. Both groups supported participation in radiology (77%, 85%) and guideline (74%, 90%) reviews, journal clubs (84%, 81%), education rounds (90%, 88%), leading trauma resuscitations (94%, 98%), and trauma resuscitation simulations (90%, 95%) as valuable educational initiatives.ConclusionsTrauma training in Canada is currently perceived to be inadequate to support resident education. The development and implementation of competency-based curricular components will be essential to address the identified deficiencies. This data will be used to inform the development of a national trauma training curriculum and initiatives to enhance resident education.     

Complications and patient-injury after ankle fracture surgery. −A closed claim analysis with data from the Patient Compensation Association in Denmark

BackgroundThe Patient Compensation Association (PCA) receives claims for financial compensation from patients who believe they have sustained damage from their treatment in the Danish health care system. In this study, we have analysed closed claims in which patients suffered injuries due to the surgical treatment of their ankle fracture. We identified causalities contributing to these injuries and malpractices, as well as the economic consequences of these damages.MethodsFifty-one approved closed claims from the PCA database from the years 2004–2009 were analysed in a retrospective systematic review. All patients were adults with an iatrogenic injury, and received compensation. A root cause analysis was performed to identify whether the patient suffered the damage preoperatively, during surgery or postoperatively, and to determine the level of education of the injurious doctor. Economic compensation, co-morbidities and end-result complications were registered.ResultsIn 9 of the cases the injuries happened preoperatively, but the majority of the injuries, namely 34 occurred during surgery. In 21 of the cases the damage happened postoperatively. Thirty percentages of the patients were mistreated in more than one phase. Level of competence was medical specialists in 2/3 and junior doctors in 1/3 of the cases. In the preoperative phase both groups were equally responsible for the inflicted damage. In the perioperative- and postoperative group, medical specialists inflicted the majority of damages. General recommendations regarding ORIF were not followed in 21/49 of the perioperative damages. The pronation fracture was the most common. The patients received a total average compensation of 17.561 USD each.ConclusionManaging the complex ankle fracture, requires considerable experience. This study indicates that extra attention should be paid to the most technically demanding fractures as the pronation-external-rotation-, diabetic- and fragility fractures. Surgeons should follow the recommendations for ORIF. Emphasis should also focus on adequate postoperative plans. This study finds a high readmission-burden, re-operation rate and great expenses in form of compensation.     

Baseline Predictors of Pain and Disability One Year Following Extra-Articular Distal Radius Fractures

Distal radius fractures are common injuries; however, identifying which factors are responsible for predicting outcomes remains an area of controversy. The purpose of this study was to define factors predictive of patient-reported pain and disability at 1 year in a prospective cohort of extra-articular distal radius fractures (n = 222). Data were collected at the initial visit and after 3, 6, and 12 months. The primary outcome was the 1-year patient-rated wrist evaluation (PRWE) score. The effect of baseline patient and injury characteristics on the 1-year PRWE score was assessed. Univariate and forward stepwise regression analyses both agreed that the most influential predictor of pain and disability at 1 year was injury compensation. The 1-year PRWE score was significantly higher for subjects involved with third-party claims (35.48) compared to those that were not involved in any claims (14.97), p = 0.006. The regression model found that three baseline factors – injury compensation, education, and other medical comorbidities – explained 16.4% of the variance in PRWE scores at 1 year. No injury characteristic, including the degree of initial fracture displacement, was found to significantly influence the 1-year PRWE score. This study has shown that baseline patient and injury characteristics play a small role in predicting 1-year patient-reported pain and disability in extra-articular distal radius fractures. Conceptual factors outside of this biomedical model should be investigated.     

The hospital costs of treating work-related sawmill injuries in British Columbia

OBJECTIVE: This study estimates the hospital costs of treating work-related injury among a cohort of sawmill workers in British Columbia. METHODS: Hospital discharge records were extracted from 1989 to 1998 for a cohort of 5,876 actively employed sawmill workers. Injury cases were identified as work-related from these records using ICD-9 external cause of injury codes that indicate place of occurrence and the responsibility of payment schedule that identifies workers' compensation as being responsible for payment. The hospitals in British Columbia have a standard ward rate chart prepared annually by the provincial Ministry of Health to bill and collect payment from agency like workers' compensation agency. Costs were calculated from the hospital perspective using this billing chart. All costs were expressed in 1995 Canadian dollars. The workers' compensation claim records for this study population were extracted and matched with the hospitalised work-related injury records. Costs were also calculated for work-related hospitalisations that the hospital did not appear to be reimbursed for by the workers' compensation system. RESULTS: There were 173 injuries requiring hospitalisation during the 10-year followup period. The median stay in hospitals was 3 days and the median hospital costs were $847. The most costly cause of injury categories were fire, flame, natural and environmental and struck against with median costs of $10,575 and $1,206, respectively, while the least costly category was cutting and piercing with median costs of $296. The most costly nature of injury categories were burns and fracture of lower limb with median costs of $10,575 and $1,800, respectively, while the least costly category was dislocation, sprains and strains with median costs of $437. The total hospital costs for all the work-related injuries were $434,990. Out of a total hospital cost of $434,990 for the 173 work-related injuries, the provincial compensation agency apparently did not compensate $50,663 (12%). CONCLUSION: Prevention of work-related injuries can save significant amount of health care resources. Substantial costs remain uncompensated by the provincial compensation agency and are thus transferred to the provincial health care system annually.     

Impact financier et médicolégal des traumatismes dentaires

IntroductionDental injuries are among the most common complications of general anesthesia. Yet few studies have assessed the costs and factors that involve the responsibility of the anesthetist.Study designA retrospective study was conducted at the university hospital of Reims on 46 cases of dental injuries directly related to anaesthesia.ResultsTen patients made a claim for compensation. Two of them have received compensation following a medical expertise, which revealed for the first patient a possible alternative to general anaesthesia, and the second, hardware failure of intubation. The Administrative Court was entered once in 9 years. The global insurance-cost amounts to 4476 euros for all patients. The review of all cases of anaesthesia shows clearly that the dental claims are associated with a significant under clinical evaluation of dental status and criteria for difficult intubation during the anaesthesia. The information to the patient on this risk is not obvious from reading the anaesthesia records. No mouth guard was used.ConclusionThis work proves that the statements of caution are the most common and a minority of dental trauma lead to a claim. Claims are due to the high cost of dental care repair. The proportion of patients receiving benefits is extremely low. Medical expertise is an essential part of the evaluation of medical responsibilities. No compensation was paid without expertise. The lack of physical examination and information are contrary to our professional obligations and may involve our responsibility. The lack of patient information is not generated for compensation to the extent that the consequences of failure are easily dental weighed against the benefits of the entire medical-surgical procedure that the patient has agreed.     

Malpractice claims for urogenital injuries

Precise information regarding patient injuries, claims and compensation in medical malpractice cases is scarce. This dearth is especially evident among cases citing injury to the genitourinary system. In an effort to explore the topic of iatrogenic urogenital damage 3,454 malpractice claims were reviewed and an analysis of 122 cases involving urogenital injury is presented. The 2 types of claims that predominated were negligent surgery, and failure to diagnose and treat urogenital disease. Nonurological practitioners were the focus of allegations of negligence in two-thirds of each type of claim. Certain surgical procedures and clinical shortcomings in a wide range of specialties were identified as being prevalent causes of malpractice claims for urogenital injuries. The correlation between money paid to claimants and specific types of injury also was examined. Suggestions are offered regarding ways to reduce the risk of malpractice liability.     

Prevalence of injuries among high school students in Eastern and Western parts of Cairo,Egypt

BackgroundInjury is the leading cause of death and long term disability and a significant contributor to healthcare costs among children worldwide especially those aged 15–19 years.ObjectivesTo determine the prevalence of injuries among secondary school students in Cairo, Egypt and to explore the associated risk factors for sustaining injury.MethodologyA Cross-sectional study was conducted on secondary school students in eastern and western part of Cairo; self-administered questionnaire was used for assessing injuries sustained in previous 12 months and the associated risk factors for injury.ResultsThe overall prevalence of injuries was 68.5%. Unintentional injuries were the most common injuries falls (50%) and burns (38.6%). Significant factors associated with sustaining injury were truancy, smoking, alcohol use, quarreling behavior, carrying weapon, threatened by weapon and verbal bullying.ConclusionThis study showed a high prevalence of injuries among high school students in Egypt which necessitates raising public awareness about the magnitude and burden of injuries among adolescents.     

A closed claims analysis of vocal cord injuries related to endotracheal intubation between 2004 and 2015

Study objectiveTo provide a contemporary medicolegal analysis of claims brought against anesthesiologists for injuries related to endotracheal intubation.DesignA retrospective study of closed claims data from the Controlled Risk Insurance Company (CRICO) Comparative Benchmarking System (CBS) database between 2004 and 2015.SettingClosed claims that occurred in any surgical specialty in which the patient was undergoing general anesthesia and anesthesiology was named as the primary responsible service.PatientsTwenty claims were identified for analysis in 7 surgical specialties. Patient ages ranged from 45 to 76. Data regarding patient comorbidities and case history were obtained when available.InterventionsNone.MeasurementsData collected includes patient demographics such as age, outcome severity, alleged complication, plaintiff allegations, contributing factors to the injury, the surgical specialty in which the injury occurred, and the ultimate result of the claim (dismissed/denied/settled).Main resultsOut of 20 claims, settlement payments were made in 10% of claims with a mean payment amount of $7669. Mean patient age was 55.6 years. Within severity of injuries, 65% of claims were classified as “Permanent Minor.” The most common contributing factor in claims was “Technical Knowledge/Performance” and the most common plaintiff allegation was “Trauma from endotracheal tube placement.” Bilateral vocal cord paralysis, unilateral (left-sided) vocal cord paralysis, and laryngeal nerve injury were the top alleged complications. The surgical specialty in which claims most often resulted was orthopedic surgery.ConclusionsInjuries related to endotracheal intubation remain an ongoing challenge to anesthesiologists. Their etiology is often multifactorial and was found in this study to stem most commonly from technical errors and patient co-morbidities. A detailed discussion of risks with patients during the consent process, careful documentation of such discussion, and prompt referral to specialists when needed are critical. Understanding the patterns related to injuries during intubation is essential in order to develop strategies for improved patient safety and outcomes.