Patterns of injury among drivers hospitalized in Level-I Trauma Centers: have frontal airbags made a difference?

This study describes the injuries of drivers discharged from Level-I Trauma Centers between 1995-1997. Differences in the drivers' injuries and outcomes by airbag deployment status and gender were evaluated using Chi 2 and T-tests. Data on 1,065 drivers (66 with airbags, 423 females) were obtained from the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicle and Trauma Registries. Once admitted to trauma centers, drivers with airbags did not differ from drivers without airbags regarding the number, type, clustering, severity or outcome of their injuries. The only exception was that female drivers sustained more fractures to the upper extremities and less injuries to blood vessels and certain traumatic complications (p < 0.05).