[Lesion severity and characteristics of motorcycle riders cared at an emergency hospital].

In Brazil, the motorcycle fleet has greatly increased, and consequently, also the risk of exposure to accidents by the riders. This cross-sectional study of the subtype "groups under treatment" aimed at studying the relation between the most frequent lesions suffered by victims of motorcycle accidents cared at the Emergency Hospital of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and the victims' characteristics. The sample included 90 motorcycle riders. The results showed that these were predominantly male, between 26 and 35 years of age, single, with no previous history of accidents, and that used the motorcycle for approximately 4.98 hours daily. The most affected body regions were the lower limbs and the hips, followed by higher limbs, with intermediate severity. Significant associations were detected between care type--outpatient--and lesion type, and among accident history, profession, and time rode per day.