The incidence of hospital-treated facial injuries from vehicles

Abstract

The annual incidence rate of facial injuries from vehicle crashes, 278 per 100,000 residents, was determined from a population-based study involving all Dane County, Wisconsin, hospitals with emergency departments. Applying this figure to the U.S. population yields an estimated 625,000 hospital-treated facial injuries from vehicles occurring in the United States each year. Vehicle crashes were the source of a substantial proportion of facial injuries from all causes, and were found to be the single leading cause of the most severe facial lacerations and facial fractures. The majority of injuries were sustained by drivers and other vehicle occupants, and others by bicyclists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians struck by vehicle. Vehicle occupants' faces were most commonly injured by steering wheels and windshields. Technologies which are thought to protect occupants include airbags and nonlacerating windshields, but neither is available in vehicles currently manufactured for sale in the United States.