BICYCLE ACCIDENTS OFTEN CAUSE DISABILITY - AN ANALYSIS OF MEDICAL ANDSOCIAL-CONSEQUENCES OF NONFATAL BICYCLE ACCIDENTS

Social and medical consequences of 278 children and 264 adults injured in bicycle accidents and seen in two hospitals in Helsinki in 1985-86 were analyzed. Information was collected from patient records, by mea ns of a special questionnaire and by telephone interview. A child outp atient required 1.7 and a child inpatient 3.0 physician visits on an a verage, while adults required 2.2 and 4.9 visits, rcspectively. The av erage duration of hospital stay was 8 days for hospitalized adults and 6 days for children. Rehabilitative care outside the hospital was rec eived by 6% of the adult outpatients and 25% of the inpatients, but no ne of the injured children. The mean duration of work disability was 8 2 days among inpatients, 11 days among outpatients, 127 days among the inpatients injured in motor vehicle collisions and 65 days among inpa tients injured in other bicycle accidents. Of inpatients 32% and of ou tpatients 5% reported persistent (>6 months) disability. Persistent di sability was recorded in 11% of children, in 47% of adults and in 67% of elderly inpatients. Most serious consequences were due to intracran ial injuries in motor vehicle - bicycle collisions. Of the hospitalize d bicyclists 4% sufered from severe cognitive and behavioural changes or sense impairment and of adult inpatients 3% suffered from permanent work disability. The average costs of health and social services were about FIM 1000 per adult outpatient and FIM 13000 per adult inpatient . In prevention high priority should be given to motor vehicle collisi ons, head injuries and injuries among the elderly bicyclists.