Case studies in contact burns caused by exhaust pipes of motorcycles.
Contact burns caused by the exhaust pipe of motorcycles are rarely reported. We performed retrospective studies of such cases in 78 patients with complete records. The majority of victims were unmarried (75.7%), young (<25 years, 70.5%), and female (69.3%), dressed mostly in short pants or mini skirts (75.7%). The burn accident occurred mostly in late spring and early summer (52.7%), during rush hours (57.7%), and during parking the motorcycles (65.4%). The burn wounds located mostly on the lateral aspect (46.2%) of the lower leg, usually took 3-4 weeks for complete healing. Continuous monitoring of the exhaust pipe and its outside cover on moving motorcycles showed that the temperature reached 170-250 and 40-60 degrees C, respectively. For the prevention of these injuries, our suggestions include well-designed external shield with adequate separation from the exhaust pipe, motorcycle parking lots of adequate width (>120cm), the wearing of trousers by motorcyclists, decrease of the density of motorcycle traffic, and development of the electric assisted cycle in place of the fuel-driven motorcycle.
Lai
Chung-Sheng
CS
The Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan, ROC. ipras2@cc.kmu.edu.tw
Lin
Tsai-Ming
TM
Lee
Su-Shin
SS
Tu
Chao-Hung
CH
Chen
I-Heng
IH
Chang
Kao-Ping C
KP
Tsai
Chih-Cheng
CC
Lin
Sin-Daw
SD
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002056:Burns / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007869:Leg Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015541:Off-Road Motor Vehicles; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012621:Seasons; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D001335:Vehicle Emissions / Q000009:adverse effects*
D001335:Vehicle Emissions