Safety restraint use linked to hospital use and charges in Arkansas.
Crash data from 2001-2005 was linked to hospital discharge data to determine the impact of safety restraint use on crashed-related hospital charges and use for 4013 hospitalizations. Safety restraint use, year of hospitalization and age group affected the hospital charges and length of stay after a crash. Mean hospital charges were 44% greater for unrestrained patients ($44,736 versus $30,990); mean length of stay was 23% longer for the unrestrained (9.2 days versus 7.5 days). Lack of safety restraint use was associated with greater use of hospital resources. Prevention efforts should focus on increasing compliance.
Aitken
Mary E
ME
Bowman
Stephen M
SM
Card-Higginson
Paula
P
Carson
John E
JE
Lin
Tsai Mei
TM
Thompson
Joseph W
JW
Zhao
Yanzhe
Y
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001131:Arkansas; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006739:Hospital Administration / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012622:Seat Belts / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*