title: Characteristics of hand injuries caused by powered wood splitters.
abstract: Accidents with powered wood splitters cause a distinct group of hand injuries in which the injury spectrum ranges from a minor lesion to mutilating defects. We studied these injuries in order to assess the consequences and estimate the associated costs. A 2-year cohort of patients was retrospectively identified from medical records. The details of the injuries and the treatment were collected, and estimates of the resources used were based on hospital billing and the average costs of sick leave and disability. A total of 67 patients were identified and seven of those were children. Most patients sustained a major hand injury and an emergency microsurgical operation was indicated in 40% of patients. The total cost associated with the injuries was estimated at €3.33 million (£2.56 million, US$3.62 million). The treatment of this relatively small number of injuries demands substantial medical resources, and most of the costs are due to sick leave and disability. Level of evidence IV.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Hand- and Microsurgery, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jokihaara
authors.affiliation: 2 Medical School, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: T K P
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Ranta
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Hand- and Microsurgery, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland.|2 Medical School, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: O V
authors.initials: OV
authors.lastname: Leppänen
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Hand- and Microsurgery, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hellevuo
mesh_terms: D000059:Accidents / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D016468:Forestry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D006230:Hand Injuries / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014934:Wood; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Accidents; hand injuries; health care economics; retrospective studies