title: Comparison of health outcomes between hospitalised and non-hospitalised persons with minor injuries sustained in a road traffic crash in Australia: a prospective cohort study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This prospective cohort study aimed to investigate whether there are differences in health outcomes among persons with mild or moderate injuries who were hospitalised compared with those not hospitalised following a road traffic crash.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sydney Metropolitan, New South Wales, Australia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Persons aged ≥18 years involved in a motor vehicle crash were surveyed at baseline (n=364), and at 12 (n=284) and 24 months (n=252). A telephone-administered questionnaire obtained information on a range of socioeconomic, and preinjury and postinjury psychological and heath characteristics of all participants.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants who reported admission to hospital for 24 h or more (but less than 7 days) after the crash were classified as being hospitalised; those admitted for less than 24 h were classified as non-hospitalised.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Around 1 in 5 participants (19.0%) were hospitalised for ≥24 h after the crash. After adjusting for age and sex, hospitalised participants compared with those not hospitalised had approximately 2.6 units (p=0.01) lower Short Form-12 Physical Component Summary (SF-12 PCS) scores (poorer physical well-being) and approximately 4.9 units lower European Quality of Life visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS) scores (p=0.05), 12 months later. After further adjusting for education level, whiplash, fracture and injury severity score, participants who were hospitalised had approximately 3.3 units lower SF-12 PCS (p=0.04), 12 months later. The association with EQ-VAS did not persist after multivariable adjustment. No significant differences were observed between the 2 groups in health outcomes at 24-month follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings indicate that long-term health status is unlikely to be influenced by hospitalisation status after sustaining a mild/moderate injury in a vehicle-related crash.
authors.affiliation: John Walsh Centre for Rehabilitation Research, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Bamini
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gopinath
authors.affiliation: John Walsh Centre for Rehabilitation Research, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Jagnoor
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jagnoor
authors.affiliation: Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, South Western Sydney Clinical School, UNSW, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Ian A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.affiliation: Pain Management Research Institute, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nicholas
authors.affiliation: George Institute for Global Health, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Christopher G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Maher
authors.affiliation: John Walsh Centre for Rehabilitation Research, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Petrina
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Casey
authors.affiliation: Pain Management Research Institute, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Fiona
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Blyth
authors.affiliation: Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Doungkamol
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sindhusake
authors.affiliation: John Walsh Centre for Rehabilitation Research, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Ian D
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: Cameron
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009517:New South Wales; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*
keywords: ACCIDENT & EMERGENCY MEDICINE; EPIDEMIOLOGY; PUBLIC HEALTH; REHABILITATION MEDICINE