title: Morbidity among pediatric motor vehicle crash victims: the effectiveness of seat belts.
abstract: It is well established that seat belts reduce mortality and morbidity among children. Data are presented for 413 children injured severely enough in motor vehicle crashes to require hospitalization. Of the unrestrained children, 4.5% died, compared with 2.4% of the belted children. Unrestrained children had a higher proportion of injuries in four of five anatomical regions, were more severely injured, stayed longer in the hospital, and were 15% more likely than belted children to be discharged with impairments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Tufts-New England Medical Center Hospitals, Boston, MA 02111.
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Osberg
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Di Scala
mesh_terms: D000007:Abdominal Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D015600:Glasgow Coma Scale; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D010351:Patient Discharge / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012042:Registries; D012622:Seat Belts / Q000592:standards*; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014193:Trauma Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology