Objective
This study aimed to assess the proportion of all life-threatening injuries that are sport-related.
Methods
We conducted a cross-sectional study of patients included in the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey during the years 1999 to 2008. Life-threatening injuries were defined according to the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes: skull fracture (800.x–802.xx, 803.x–804.xx), cervical spine fractures (805.xx–806.10), intracranial hemorrhage (852.xx–853.xx), traumatic pneumothorax/hemothorax (860.00–860.05), liver lacerations (864.xx), spleen lacerations (865.xx), aortic rupture (901.0; 902.0), gastric/duodenal rupture (537.89), heat stroke (992.0), and commotio cordis/heart contusion (861.01). Sport-related was defined by the external cause of injury codes, confirmed by text search.
Results
There were 300,394 observed emergency department visits during the study period. An estimated 0.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.5%–0.6%) of all emergency department visits nationally were for life-threatening injuries. Of the life-threatening injuries, 14% (95% CI, 12%–17) were sport-related, representing 926,805 sport-related, life-threatening injuries nationally. A higher percentage (32%; 95% CI, 27%–38%) of life-threatening injuries sustained by children was sport-related when compared with adults (9%; 95% CI, 7%–11%). For adults aged 19 to 44 years, 12% (95% CI, 9%–15%) of life-threatening injuries were sport-related. For children aged 6 to 18 years, 39% (95% CI, 33%–46%) of life-threatening injuries were sport-related. Nearly a quarter (23%; 95% CI, 7%–55%) of pediatric cervical spine fractures was sport-related. The percentage of cervical spine fractures that were sport-related was lower for adults (7%; 95% CI, 4%–11%).
Conclusions
Efforts should be made to prevent the number of sport-related, life-threatening injuries.
