Motorcycle Helmets Save Lives, But Not Limbs: A National Trauma Data Bank Analysis of Functional Outcomes After Motorcycle Crash1

Crompton, Joseph G.; Oyetunji, Tolulope; Stevens, Kent A.; Efron, David T.; Haut, Elliott R.; Haider, Adil H.

doi:10.1016/j.jss.2009.06.034

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Volume 158, Issue 1 , Pages 1-5, January 2010

Motorcycle Helmets Save Lives, But Not Limbs: A National Trauma Data Bank Analysis of Functional Outcomes After Motorcycle Crash¹

Joseph G. Crompton, M.D.
- Department of Surgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- To whom correspondence and reprint requests should be addressed at, Trauma Outcomes Research Group, Department of Surgery, Division of Acute Care Surgery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Carnegie 683, Baltimore, MD 21287.
Tolulope Oyetunji, M.D., M.P.H.
- Department of Surgery, Howard University College of Medicine, Washington, D.C
Kent A. Stevens, M.D., M.P.H.
- Department of Surgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
David T. Efron, M.D.
- Department of Surgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
Elliott R. Haut, M.D.
- Department of Surgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
Adil H. Haider, M.D., M.P.H.
- Department of Surgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland

Received 10 January 2009 published online 27 July 2009.

Background

The incidence of motorcycle fatalities over the last 10 y has nearly doubled. There is considerable evidence that motorcycle helmets save lives, but there are little data regarding the impact that helmets have on functional outcomes after a motorcycle crash. The objective of this study was to determine the difference between helmeted and non-helmeted motorcyclists in the odds of developing a functional deficit at discharge in three domains: speech, locomotion, and feeding.

Methods

Reviewed cases in the National Trauma Databank v7.0 involved in motorcycle collisions. Multiple logistic regression was used to analyze the effect of helmets on mortality and functional outcomes, adjusting for age, race, gender, insurance status, anatomic and physiologic injury severity, and head injury.

Results

The adjusted odds of mortality (0.75; 95% CI 0.65–0.86) and functional deficits in speech (0.82; 95% CI 0.69–0.97), locomotion (1.19; 95% CI 1.11–1.29), and feeding (0.96 95% CI 0.84–1.08) among helmeted riders was compared with non-helmeted motorcyclists with equivalent injuries.

Conclusion

Helmeted motorcyclists are less likely to die and develop a deficit in speech after a motorcycle collision. These data support that motorcycle helmets are important in preventing functional deficits related to head injury.

Key Words: motorcycle helmet, functional outcomes, speech deficit, locomotion deficit, feeding deficit, National Trauma Data Bank, trauma