Burn injuries caused by air bag deployment

Automobile air bags have gained acceptance as an effective measure to reduc e the morbidity and mortality associated with motor vehicle accidents. As m ore cars have become equipped with them, new problems have been encountered that are directly attributable to the deployment of the bag itself. An inc reasing variety of associated injuries has been reported, including minor b urns. We present two automobile drivers who were involved in front-impact c rashes with air bag inflation. They sustained superficial and partial-thick ness burns related to the deployment. The evaluation of these cases shows m echanisms involved in burn injuries caused by the air bag system. Most of t he burns are chemical and usually attributed to sodium hydroxide in the aer osol created during deployment. Also direct thermal burns from high-tempera ture gases or indirect injuries due to the melting of clothing, as well as friction burns from physical contact are possible. However, the inherent ri sks of air bag-related burns are still outweighed by the benefits of preven ting potentially life-threatening injuries. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd a nd ISBI, All rights reserved.