Air bag safety.
OBJECTIVE
To describe injuries associated with deployment of air bag passive-restraint systems in use in the United States.


METHODS
Retrospective review of data collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) from 1980 to 1994.


METHODS
Occupants of air bag-equipped vehicles who were involved in crashes on US roads.


RESULTS
Of 618 reported occupant injuries related to air bag deployment, an overwhelming majority were classified as minor (96.1%). Most occupants sustained abrasions, contusions, and lacerations. The face (42.0%), wrist (16.8%), forearm (16.3%) and chest (9.6%) were the most frequently injured body areas.


CONCLUSIONS
Most injuries related to air bag deployment are minor and must be viewed in the context of the potentially life-threatening injuries they prevent.
Antosia
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Department of Emergency Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Partridge
R A
RA
Virk
A S
AS
D017278:Air Bags / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002056:Burns / Q000209:etiology; D003288:Contusions / Q000209:etiology; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D012163:Retinal Detachment / Q000209:etiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000145:classification / Q000209:etiology*; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000209:etiology