INJURY PATTERN AND SEVERITY IN LATERAL MOTOR-VEHICLE COLLISIONS A CANADIAN EXPERIENCE

Objective: To determine the pattern and severity of injury and the out come of bone seat motor vehicle occupants after lateral impact crashes . Design: Retrospective review undertaken in a Regional Trauma Unit (S unnybrook Health Science Centre), Materials and Methods: Review of ser iously injured front seat motor vehicle occupants admitted to a Region al Trauma Unit over a 46-month period (September 15, 1989, to July 15, 1993) for whom vehicle crash information and occupant seat belt use w ere known. Measurements and main results: Three hundred forty-eight fr ont seat vehicle occupants were available for study; one hundred forty -one (41%) were involved in a lateral impact motor vehicle crash, Driv er side lateral crashes (57%) were more common than passenger side imp acts. Victims of lateral impact crashes had a significantly higher mea n Injury Severity Score (25 compared with 20 for nonlateral crashes: p < 0.05), and the direction of impact was strongly associated with inj ury severity (p < 0.05). Lateral impact crashes resulted in substantia lly more significant chest (p < 0.01) and intra-abdominal (p < 0.0001) injuries, Type of injury was significantly different between the late ral and nonlateral impact groups for facial, chest, abdominal, and mus culoskeletal injuries, Conclusions: The direction of impact in motor v ehicle crashes is strongly associated with the pattern and severity of organ injuries, Further attention to automobile safety design is nece ssary to better protect occupants involved in lateral impact crashes.