MDCT findings in sports and recreational accidents.
BACKGROUND
Sports and recreational accidents involving critical areas of the body occur commonly in the general population. Reports on their demographics and recommendations for screening procedures are, however, few.


OBJECTIVE
To assess injuries of the craniofacial area, spine, and torso resulting from sports and recreational accidents with multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) as primary imaging method in a Level I trauma center.


METHODS
All emergency room CT requests over a time span of 105 months were reviewed retrospectively for trauma mechanism and injury. Patients were identified using an electronic picture archiving and communications system (PACS), and MDCT studies interpreted by two radiologists independently.


RESULTS
Of a total of 5898 patients, 492 patients (301 boys/men, 191 girls/women, age range 2-76 years, mean 33.5 years, median 29.5 years) with sports or recreational accidents emerged. A total of 102 traumatic findings were diagnosed, thereof 72 (71%) serious. The three most commonly encountered serious injuries were intracranial injury, fractures of facial bones, and vertebral injuries. The three most common injury mechanisms were bicycling, horseback riding, and team ball sports. Patients from recreational activities were on average significantly younger (29.2 years) than those from sports accidents (36.9 years; P < 0.001). Only age groups <21 years and 41-50 years differed in injury severity from the other age groups (P = 0.004 and P = 0.063, respectively). Of all trauma mechanisms, only bicycling had a significantly increased risk of injury (P < 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Injuries in sports and recreational accidents presented with an overall incidence of 21%, of which 71% are serious. The most common mechanisms of injury were bicycling, horseback riding, and team ball sports. The largest incidence of serious injury involved bicycling. Because of the high probability of a serious injury and the high energies that are often involved in these accidents, we recommend ruling out of internal injury by MDCT as the primary imaging modality.
Department of Radiology, Töölö Hospital, Helsinki, Finland. frank.bensch@hus.fi
Frank V
FV
Bensch
Mika P
MP
Koivikko
Seppo K
SK
Koskinen
D000059:Accidents / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005147:Facial Bones / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061330:Multidetector Computed Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D015588:Observer Variation; D011873:Radiology Information Systems; D011998:Recreation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012886:Skull / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries; D013124:Spinal Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology; D060726:Torso / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries; D014193:Trauma Centers; D055815:Young Adult