Border-fence falls versus domestic falls at a South Texas trauma center
Objectives Falling from height may lead to significant injuries and time hospitalized; however, there are few studies comparing the specific mechanism of fall. The purpose of this study was to compare injuries from falls after attempting to cross the USA-Mexico border fence (intentional) with injuri...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open |
| Online Access: | https://tsaco.bmj.com/content/8/1/e001020.full |
| _version_ | 1797367235166076928 |
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| author | David Bar-Or Constance McGraw Muhammad Darwish Christopher W Foote Chaoyang Chen Vidhur Sohini Carlos H Palacio |
| author_facet | David Bar-Or Constance McGraw Muhammad Darwish Christopher W Foote Chaoyang Chen Vidhur Sohini Carlos H Palacio |
| author_sort | David Bar-Or |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives Falling from height may lead to significant injuries and time hospitalized; however, there are few studies comparing the specific mechanism of fall. The purpose of this study was to compare injuries from falls after attempting to cross the USA-Mexico border fence (intentional) with injuries from domestic falls (unintentional) of comparable height.Methods This retrospective cohort study included all patients admitted after a fall from a height of 15–30 ft to a level II trauma center between April 2014 and November 2019. Patient characteristics were compared by falls from the border fence with those who fell domestically. Fisher’s exact test, χ2 test and Wilcoxon Mann-Whitney U test were used as appropriate. A significance level of α<0.05 was used.Results Of the 124 patients included, 64 (52%) were falls from the border fence while 60 (48%) were domestic falls. Patients sustaining injuries from border falls were on average younger than patients who had domestic falls (32.6 (10) vs 40.0 (16), p=0.002), more likely males (58% vs 41%, p<0.001), fell from a significantly higher distance (20 (20–25) vs 16.5 (15–25), p<0.001), and had a significantly lower median injury severity score (ISS) (5 (4–10) vs 9 (5–16.5), p=0.001). Additionally, compared with domestic falls, border falls had fewer injuries to the head (3% vs 25%, p=0.004) and chest (5% vs 27%, p=0.007), yet more extremity injuries (73% vs 42%, p=0.003), and less had an intensive care unit (ICU) stay (30% vs 63%, p=0.002). No significant differences in mortality were found.Conclusion Patients sustaining injuries from border crossing falls were slightly younger, and although fell from higher, had a lower ISS, more extremity injuries, and fewer were admitted to the ICU compared with patients sustaining falls domestically. There was no difference in mortality between groups.Level of evidence Level III, retrospective study. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T17:15:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-00f82745a2434420b53cb26a2494ed66 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2397-5776 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T17:15:24Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open |
| spelling | doaj.art-00f82745a2434420b53cb26a2494ed662024-01-03T12:45:08ZengBMJ Publishing GroupTrauma Surgery & Acute Care Open2397-57762023-11-018110.1136/tsaco-2022-001020Border-fence falls versus domestic falls at a South Texas trauma centerDavid Bar-Or0Constance McGraw1Muhammad Darwish2Christopher W Foote3Chaoyang Chen4Vidhur Sohini5Carlos H Palacio6Trauma Research, Swedish Medical Center, Englewood, Colorado, USATrauma Research, Injury Outcomes Network, Englewood, Colorado, USATrauma Services Department, South Texas Health System, McAllen, Texas, USATrauma Services Department, South Texas Health System, McAllen, Texas, USATrauma Services Department, South Texas Health System, McAllen, Texas, USATrauma Services Department, South Texas Health System, McAllen, Texas, USATrauma Services, South Texas Health System McAllen, McAllen, TX, USAObjectives Falling from height may lead to significant injuries and time hospitalized; however, there are few studies comparing the specific mechanism of fall. The purpose of this study was to compare injuries from falls after attempting to cross the USA-Mexico border fence (intentional) with injuries from domestic falls (unintentional) of comparable height.Methods This retrospective cohort study included all patients admitted after a fall from a height of 15–30 ft to a level II trauma center between April 2014 and November 2019. Patient characteristics were compared by falls from the border fence with those who fell domestically. Fisher’s exact test, χ2 test and Wilcoxon Mann-Whitney U test were used as appropriate. A significance level of α<0.05 was used.Results Of the 124 patients included, 64 (52%) were falls from the border fence while 60 (48%) were domestic falls. Patients sustaining injuries from border falls were on average younger than patients who had domestic falls (32.6 (10) vs 40.0 (16), p=0.002), more likely males (58% vs 41%, p<0.001), fell from a significantly higher distance (20 (20–25) vs 16.5 (15–25), p<0.001), and had a significantly lower median injury severity score (ISS) (5 (4–10) vs 9 (5–16.5), p=0.001). Additionally, compared with domestic falls, border falls had fewer injuries to the head (3% vs 25%, p=0.004) and chest (5% vs 27%, p=0.007), yet more extremity injuries (73% vs 42%, p=0.003), and less had an intensive care unit (ICU) stay (30% vs 63%, p=0.002). No significant differences in mortality were found.Conclusion Patients sustaining injuries from border crossing falls were slightly younger, and although fell from higher, had a lower ISS, more extremity injuries, and fewer were admitted to the ICU compared with patients sustaining falls domestically. There was no difference in mortality between groups.Level of evidence Level III, retrospective study.https://tsaco.bmj.com/content/8/1/e001020.full |
| spellingShingle | David Bar-Or Constance McGraw Muhammad Darwish Christopher W Foote Chaoyang Chen Vidhur Sohini Carlos H Palacio Border-fence falls versus domestic falls at a South Texas trauma center Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open |
| title | Border-fence falls versus domestic falls at a South Texas trauma center |
| title_full | Border-fence falls versus domestic falls at a South Texas trauma center |
| title_fullStr | Border-fence falls versus domestic falls at a South Texas trauma center |
| title_full_unstemmed | Border-fence falls versus domestic falls at a South Texas trauma center |
| title_short | Border-fence falls versus domestic falls at a South Texas trauma center |
| title_sort | border fence falls versus domestic falls at a south texas trauma center |
| url | https://tsaco.bmj.com/content/8/1/e001020.full |
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