RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: People in the Netherlands are legally allowed to celebrate New Year's Eve with consumer fireworks. The aim of this study was to provide detailed information about the patient and injury characteristics, medical and societal costs, and clinical and functional outcome in patients with injuries resulting from this tradition. METHODS: A multicenter, prospective, observational case series performed in the Southwest Netherlands trauma region, which reflects 15% of the country and includes a level I trauma center, a specialized burn center, a specialized eye hospital, and 13 general hospitals. All patients with any injury caused by consumer fireworks, treated at a Dutch hospital between December 1, 2017 and January 31, 2018, were eligible for inclusion. Exclusion criteria were unknown contact information or insufficient understanding of Dutch or English language. The primary outcome measure was injury characteristics. Secondary outcome measures included treatment, direct medical and indirect societal costs, and clinical and functional outcome until one year after trauma. RESULTS: 54 out of 63 eligible patients agreed to participate in this study. The majority were males (N = 50; 93%), 50% were children below 16 years of age, and 46% were bystanders. Injuries were mainly located to the upper extremity or eyes, and were mostly burns (N = 38; 48%) of partial thickness (N = 32; 84%). Fifteen (28%) patients were admitted and 11 (20%) patients needed surgical treatment. The mean total costs per patient were 6,320 (95% CI 3,400 to 9,245). The most important cost category was hospital admission. Only few patients reported complaints in patient-reported quality of life and functional outcome after 12 months follow-up. CONCLUSION: This study found that young males are most vulnerable for fireworks injuries and that most injuries consist of burns, located to the arm and hand, and eye injuries. On the long-term only few patients experienced reduced quality of life and functional limitations.
Asunto(s)
Heridas y Lesiones/epidemiología , Heridas y Lesiones/terapia , Actividades Cotidianas , Adolescente , Adulto , Niño , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Medición de Resultados Informados por el Paciente , Instituciones Académicas , Factores de Tiempo , Resultado del Tratamiento , Trabajo , Heridas y Lesiones/economía , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To report the number of patients with firework-related injuries treated in December 2017 and January 2018 in a hospital in the south-west Netherlands trauma region, and to provide details about the types of firework used and the specific injuries. DESIGN: A prospective multicentre cohort study (NTR6793). METHODS: Patients of all ages with firework-related injuries were eligible for inclusion. The injury had to have been sustained between 1 December 2017 and 31 January 2018, and treated at a hospital in the south-west Netherlands trauma region (approximately 2.5 million inhabitants). Data were extracted from patients' medical files and additional information was obtained from patient interviews. RESULTS: Fifty-four patients were included. The majority were male (93%) and the median age was 15 years. Twenty-five (46%) patients were bystanders and 12 (22%) were injured by illegal fireworks. Fifty patients were injured by bangers (n=22) or decorative fireworks (n=28). The patients had a total of 79 injuries, of which 29 (37%) were localised to the upper extremity and 19 (24%) to the eyes. Most upper extremity injuries were burns (69%), primarily partial thickness. Of the eye injuries, 14 were caused by blunt trauma, seven by chemical trauma, and one by penetrating trauma. Three patients sustained indirect firework-related injuries. CONCLUSION: Between 1 December 2017 and 31 January 2018 in the south-west Netherlands trauma region mainly teenage males and bystanders sustained firework-related injuries. Most injuries were upper extremity burns and eye injuries, mainly due to legal fireworks and bangers or decorative fireworks. The extent of the sample indicates that the study findings can be extrapolated to the rest of the Netherlands.