The effects of airbags on orbital fracture patterns in frontal automobile crashes.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate orbital fractures that occurred in frontal automobile crashes and to determine the effects of frontal airbags on injury incidence and severity.


METHODS
The National Automotive Sampling System database files from 1993 to 2000 were examined. Frontal crashes were selected that included drivers and front-seat passengers only and excluded ejected occupants and rollover crashes. Orbital fractures could be closed, open, displaced, or any combination of these and were identified by using the Abbreviated Injury Scale codes.


RESULTS
The analysis included 12,429,580 front-seat occupants from 25,464 cases. Of all occupants who were exposed to an airbag deployment, 0.09% sustained an orbital fracture. In contrast, occupants who were not exposed to an airbag deployment were more than twice as likely to sustain an orbital fracture (0.22%). In addition to reduction in incidence, airbags were also shown to decrease the severity of orbital fractures that occupants sustained. Occupants exposed to airbag deployment mostly sustained closed, less severe fractures (61.9%), whereas occupants not exposed to airbag deployment sustained the majority as more severe, open, displaced, or comminuted fractures (61.3%).


CONCLUSIONS
This article presents the most comprehensive study of orbital fractures in automobile crashes to date. It is shown that both the incidence and the overall severity of orbital fractures decreases considerably with exposure to airbag deployment. This is accomplished because the airbag minimizes occupant contact with the windshield and steering wheel, which are the two leading sources of orbital fractures for occupants not exposed to airbag deployment.
Duma
Stefan M
SM
Virginia Tech, Mechanical Engineering, 114 Randolph Hall, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. duma@vt.edu
Jernigan
M Virginia
MV
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000328:Adult; D017278:Air Bags / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D006077:Government Agencies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D009917:Orbital Fractures / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012622:Seat Belts / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology