Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Mar;7(1):18-22.
doi: 10.1007/s11552-011-9383-z. Epub 2011 Dec 14.

The epidemiology of upper extremity injuries presenting to the emergency department in the United States

Daan Ootes  1 , Kaj T Lambers, David C Ring
Affiliations

The epidemiology of upper extremity injuries presenting to the emergency department in the United States

Daan Ootes et al. Hand (N Y). 2012 Mar.

Abstract

Background: The epidemiology of upper extremity injuries presenting to emergency departments in the USA is not well studied. The purpose of this investigation was to estimate the incidence rates of upper extremity injuries presenting to emergency departments.

Methods: The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS)-a database of emergency department visits based on a sample of hospitals selected and weighted to represent the entire US population in order to allow estimates of overall incidence-was queried for all upper extremity injuries presenting to US emergency departments in 2009. Injury types were analyzed for each region of the upper extremity, and incidence rates were calculated based on population estimates from the US Census.

Results: A query of the NEISS resulted in 92,601 records of upper extremity injury treated at an emergency department in the USA in 2009, which translates to an estimated total of 3,468,996 such injuries that year. This corresponds to an incidence of 1,130 upper extremity injuries per 100,000 persons per year. The most common region injured was the finger (38.4%). The most common upper extremity injury was a fracture (29.2%). Specific injuries with high incidence rates (all per 100,000 per year) included finger lacerations (221), wrist fractures (72), finger fractures (68), and lower arm fractures (64). Home is the most common setting for an upper extremity injury.

Conclusions: The NEISS provides estimates of the incidences of upper extremity injuries that may be useful for public health initiatives.

Keywords: Emergency department; Epidemiology; Upper extremity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Incidence rates per 100,000 persons per year from 2000–2009
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Nonfatal traumatic brain injuries from sports and recreation activities—United States, 2001–2005. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2007;56:733–737. - PubMed
    1. Downing ND. Fractures of the hand. Surgery. 2003;21(10):256–258. doi: 10.1383/surg.21.10.256.18560. - DOI
    1. Eitel DR, Rudkin SE, Malvehy M, et al. Improving service quality by understanding emergency department flow: a White Paper and position statement prepared for the American Academy of Emergency Medicine. J Emerg Med. 2010;38(1):70–79. doi: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2008.03.038. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Larsen CF, Brondum V, Skov O. Epidemiology of scaphoid fractures in Odense, Denmark. Acta Orthop Scand. 1992;63:216–218. doi: 10.3109/17453679209154827. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Larsen CF, Mulder S, Johansen AM, et al. The epidemiology of hand injuries in The Netherlands and Denmark. Eur J Epidemiol. 2004;19:323–327. doi: 10.1023/B:EJEP.0000024662.32024.e3. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources