Abdominal injury with airbag deployment for belted drivers in frontal crashes - biomed 2009

The risk of moderate or serious abdominal injury is higher for belted drivers in frontal crashes with a deployed airbag than for belted drivers not exposed to a deployed airbag. An analysis of roughly 13,000 belted front seat occupants in frontal crashes from National Automotive Sampling System / Crashworthiness Data System (NASS/CDS) case years 1993-2007 with and without airbag deployment were used in this study. There were 2.14 (CI: 1.06-4.33) times greater odds of AIS2+ abdominal injury and 3.48 (CI: 1.27-9.62) times greater odds of AIS3+ abdominal injury when a belted driver was exposed to a deployed airbag as compared to belted drivers not exposed to a deployed airbag. The liver and spleen were not found to have statistically significant higher odds of injury with airbag deployment. It is possible that an increase in abdominal injury potential may be related to a change in occupant kinematics as a result of the occupant engaging the deployed airbag, consequently forcing the occupant to submarine under the lap belt.