Bicycle-Related Injuries Presenting to Tabriz Imam Reza Hospital, Iran

BACKGROUND Rising fuel cost and subsequent increase in transportation prices encourage people to use cheap transportation such as a bicycle. This vehicle can also be used for sports and recreation. Bicycles are widely used in Iran, like other countries. There is not enough data about bicycle-related traumas in our country. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to obtain the epidemiology of this type of injury in Tabriz Imam Reza Hospital as a referral center in northwest of Iran during 2009 to 2012. MATERIALS AND METHODS One hundred bicycle-related patients during the three years were entered in this descriptive cross-sectional study. Patient's demographics, place and time of crash, mechanism of trauma, helmet and other safety device usage, and disposition information were gathered by a researcher-made checklist. Admission rate and ward as well as the site of injuries were also collected. The data were analyzed by SPSS 16 software using descriptive statistics. RESULTS All the patients were males with a mean age of 31.3 ± 23.12. Seventy six bicycle-related injuries occurred during weekdays and 24 happened on holidays; 71 patients attended the emergency department in the morning and 29 at night. Only three of 100 cyclists had helmets during the accident. The rates of injuries were as follows: 65 head and face, 20 abdomen, 14 chest, 11 soft tissue, eight lower limb, eight cervical spine, six upper limb, four thoracic and lumbar spine, and three pelvis injuries. CONCLUSIONS Head and face are the most common sites of injury and skull fracture is the most common one. Considering the preventable entity of trauma, the use of helmets seems to be beneficial to prevent most bicycle-related injuries.