Bicycle accident-related head injuries in India

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Abstract

Objectives:

To describe the epidemiology of head injuries sustained due to bicycle accidents in India.

Materials and Methods:

Data were retrospectively collected over a period of six months (15 May 2011 to 15 November 2011). Demography of patients, Glasgow coma scale (GCS), clinical and imaging findings, and mortality and outcome using Glasgow outcome scale (GOS), Rivermead post-concussion symptom questionnaire (RPCSQ) and Rivermead head injury follow-up questionnaire (RHFUQ), were analyzed. Outcome was assessed by telephonic interview.

Results:

There were 108 patients (100 males) with mean age of 27.7 years. Seventy-four (68.5%) were from rural areas. Accidents due to vehicular collision accounted for 60 (55.6%) cases. None wore a helmet. The admission GCS was 14-15 in 68.5% cases, 13-3 in 31.5%. The risk of moderate to severe injuries was increased among working laborers (OR = 5), and patients with loss of consciousness (OR = 4). Sixty-three (49%) patients had abnormal computed tomography (CT) findings; most common finding was skull fracture 25 (23.1%). Four patients needed surgery. The GOS assessment at three to six months revealed favorable outcome in 66 patients (61.1%) and death in 8 (7.4%). The common post-concussion symptoms were headache, fatigue, and poor concentration.

Conclusion:

The majority of hospitalized cyclists were from a rural background and of the lower income group. After three months the majority of patients had good recovery with few persistent concussion symptoms.

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Most cited references 23

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Health benefits of cycling: a systematic review.

P Oja, S Titze, A. Bauman … (2011)

The purpose of this study was to update the evidence on the health benefits of cycling. A systematic review of the literature resulted in 16 cycling-specific studies. Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies showed a clear positive relationship between cycling and cardiorespiratory fitness in youths. Prospective observational studies demonstrated a strong inverse relationship between commuter cycling and all-cause mortality, cancer mortality, and cancer morbidity among middle-aged to elderly subjects. Intervention studies among working-age adults indicated consistent improvements in cardiovascular fitness and some improvements in cardiovascular risk factors due to commuting cycling. Six studies showed a consistent positive dose-response gradient between the amount of cycling and the health benefits. Systematic assessment of the quality of the studies showed most of them to be of moderate to high quality. According to standard criteria used primarily for the assessment of clinical studies, the strength of this evidence was strong for fitness benefits, moderate for benefits in cardiovascular risk factors, and inconclusive for all-cause mortality, coronary heart disease morbidity and mortality, cancer risk, and overweight and obesity. While more intervention research is needed to build a solid knowledge base of the health benefits of cycling, the existing evidence reinforces the current efforts to promote cycling as an important contributor for better population health. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

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The impact of transportation infrastructure on bicycling injuries and crashes: a review of the literature

Conor CO Reynolds, M Harris, Kay Teschke … (2009)

Background Bicycling has the potential to improve fitness, diminish obesity, and reduce noise, air pollution, and greenhouse gases associated with travel. However, bicyclists incur a higher risk of injuries requiring hospitalization than motor vehicle occupants. Therefore, understanding ways of making bicycling safer and increasing rates of bicycling are important to improving population health. There is a growing body of research examining transportation infrastructure and the risk of injury to bicyclists. Methods We reviewed studies of the impact of transportation infrastructure on bicyclist safety. The results were tabulated within two categories of infrastructure, namely that at intersections (e.g. roundabouts, traffic lights) or between intersections on "straightaways" (e.g. bike lanes or paths). To assess safety, studies examining the following outcomes were included: injuries; injury severity; and crashes (collisions and/or falls). Results The literature to date on transportation infrastructure and cyclist safety is limited by the incomplete range of facilities studied and difficulties in controlling for exposure to risk. However, evidence from the 23 papers reviewed (eight that examined intersections and 15 that examined straightaways) suggests that infrastructure influences injury and crash risk. Intersection studies focused mainly on roundabouts. They found that multi-lane roundabouts can significantly increase risk to bicyclists unless a separated cycle track is included in the design. Studies of straightaways grouped facilities into few categories, such that facilities with potentially different risks may have been classified within a single category. Results to date suggest that sidewalks and multi-use trails pose the highest risk, major roads are more hazardous than minor roads, and the presence of bicycle facilities (e.g. on-road bike routes, on-road marked bike lanes, and off-road bike paths) was associated with the lowest risk. Conclusion Evidence is beginning to accumulate that purpose-built bicycle-specific facilities reduce crashes and injuries among cyclists, providing the basis for initial transportation engineering guidelines for cyclist safety. Street lighting, paved surfaces, and low-angled grades are additional factors that appear to improve cyclist safety. Future research examining a greater variety of infrastructure would allow development of more detailed guidelines.

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Outcome measures for traumatic brain injury.

Amit Agrawal, B Devi, Dhaval Shukla (2011)

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major public health problem resulting in death and disabilities of young and productive people. Though the mortality of TBI has decreased substantially in recent years the disability due to TBI has not appreciably reduced. Various outcome scales have been proposed and used to assess disability after TBI. A few, commonly used are Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) with or without extended scores, Disability Rating Scale (DRS), Functional Independence Measure (FIM), Community Integration Questionnaire (CIQ), and the Functional Status Examination (FSE). These scales assess disability resulting from physical and cognitive impairments. For patients with good physical recovery a cognitive and neuropsychological outcome measure is required. Such measures include Neurobehavioural Function Inventory and specific neuropsychological tests like Rey Complex Figure for visuoconstruction and memory, Controlled Oral Word Association for verbal fluency, Symbol Digit Modalities (verbal) for sustained attention and Grooved Pegboard for fine motor dexterity. A more holistic and complete outcome measure is Quality of Life (QOL). Disease specific QOL measure for TBI, Quality of Life after Brain Injury (QOLIBRI) has also been recently proposed. The problems with outcome measures include poor operational definitions, lack of sensitivity or low ceiling effects, inability to evaluate patients who cannot report, lack of integration of morbidity and mortality categories, and limited domains of functioning assessed. GOSE-E satisfies most of the criteria of good outcome scale and in combination with neuropsychological tests is a near complete instrument for assessment of outcome after TBI. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): J Neurosci Rural Pract

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): J Neurosci Rural Pract

Journal ID (publisher-id): JNRP

Title: Journal of Neurosciences in Rural Practice

Publisher: Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd (India )

ISSN (Print): 0976-3147

ISSN (Electronic): 0976-3155

Publication date (Print): Jul-Sep 2013

Volume: 4

Issue: 3

Pages: 262-266

Affiliations

[1] Department of Neurosurgery, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, Karnataka, India

Author notes

Address for correspondence: Dr. Dhaval P. Shukla, Department of Neurosurgery, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Hosur Road, Bangalore - 560 029, Karnataka, India. E-mail: neurodhaval@ 123456rediffmail.com

Article

Publisher ID: JNRP-4-262

DOI: 10.4103/0976-3147.118764

PMC ID: 3821409

SO-VID: f8f25bb9-2b25-4c66-8c16-12a3ebb9d701

License:

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Bicycle accident-related head injuries in India

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Abstract

Objectives:

Materials and Methods:

Results:

Conclusion:

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Most cited references 23

Health benefits of cycling: a systematic review.

The impact of transportation infrastructure on bicycling injuries and crashes: a review of the literature

Outcome measures for traumatic brain injury.

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