Reference: Nutbeam T, Weekes L, Heidari S, Fenwick R, Bouamra O, Smith JE, Stassen W et al. Sex-disaggregated analysis of the injury patterns, outcome data and trapped status of major trauma patients injured in motor vehicle collisions: a prespecified analysis of the UK trauma registry (TARN). BMJ Open 2022;0:e061076. doi:10.1136/ bmjopen-2022-061076
https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/5/e061076
What we did:
We considered the outcomes of 450,357 patients injured in England between 2012 and 2019. We focused on 70,027 patients injured in motor vehicle collisions. We analysed the injuries and outcomes of males and females by trapped status and reported these.
What we found:
Female patients were more frequently trapped than male patients. Female patients were trapped 15.8% of the time compared to male patients being trapped 9.4% of the time. Trapped male patients more frequently suffered head, face, chest and limb injuries. Female patients had more injuries to the pelvis and spine.
What this means:
There are significant differences between female and male patients in the frequency at which patients are trapped and
the injuries these patients sustain. This data may help vehicle manufacturers, road safety organisations and emergency services to tailor responses with the aim of equitable outcomes by targeting equal performance of safety measures and reducing excessive risk to one sex or gender.
In summary:
Males and females have different injuries. Women are much more likely to be trapped. Extrication techniques are like to be equally applicable to male and female patients.