Deer stand-related trauma in West Virginia: 1994 through 1999.
BACKGROUND
Deer hunting is a popular activity in much of the United States. In West Virginia, over 350,000 people each year actively hunt deer. Although injuries and deaths caused by shooting-related incidents have declined, hunting injuries caused by falls from deer stands have not. We present a retrospective study from January 1994 through December 1999 to determine the number of and trauma resulting from deer stand-related incidents in West Virginia.


METHODS
Data have been compiled from individual hospital and state trauma registries, patient charts, and Department of Natural Resources logs.


RESULTS
A total of 90 individuals have been identified with injuries related to deer stand falls over the 6-year period. There were seven deaths. Most patients had multiple injuries that included extremity fracture (47%), spine fracture (36%), head injury (20%), pelvic fracture (10%), rib/clavicle fracture (11%), solid organ injury (6%), pneumothorax (3%), and other minor injuries (21%). The majority of accidents were associated with home-built as opposed to commercial stands, and most hunters were not using safety straps. Blood alcohol was elevated in only 7% of injured victims.


CONCLUSIONS
Injuries from deer stand falls are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in this state. This is the largest series of hunting-related deer stand injuries reported in the current literature. Other states have successfully implemented prevention programs that have resulted in a reduction of these types of injuries. Our data emphasize the need to establish and promote preventative education programs for hunters using tree stands.
Gates
Robert L
RL
Department of Surgery, Marshall University School of Medicine, Huntington, West Virginia 25701, USA.
Helmkamp
James C
JC
Wilson
Stephen L
SL
Denning
David A
DA
Beaver
Bonnie L
BL
D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011998:Recreation; D014197:Trees; D014903:West Virginia / Q000453:epidemiology; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology