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Published on: August 17, 2017
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Injury Patterns Following Falls Down Open Manholes.
Brent Emigh1, Morgan Schellenberg1, Natthida Owattanapanich1
1Division of Acute Care Surgery, LAC+USC Medical Center, 12223University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
The American Surgeon
|May 16, 2022
Summary
Falls through open manholes cause severe injuries, primarily to lower extremities, chest, and head. While infrequent, these preventable incidents necessitate enhanced manhole safety measures.
Area of Science:
- Traumatology
- Public Health
- Injury Prevention
Background:
- Limited research exists on injuries sustained from falls through open manholes, with the last study conducted 40 years ago.
- Open manholes pose a potential, yet understudied, environmental hazard leading to traumatic injuries.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the spectrum of injuries, surgical interventions, and patient outcomes following falls through open manholes or storm drains.
- To update the understanding of manhole fall injuries since the last comprehensive study.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB) to identify patients with ICD codes E883.2 and W17.1 from 2007 to 2017.
- Excluded transferred patients and analyzed demographics, comorbidities, injury severity (ISS, AIS), surgical procedures, and outcomes.
Main Results:
- A total of 388 patients met the study criteria, with annual injury counts ranging from 20 to 49.
- Major trauma (ISS ≥16) affected 10% of patients. Severe injuries (AIS ≥3) were most common in lower extremities (13%), chest (12%), and head (8%).
- Five percent of patients underwent major surgery, and a 1% mortality rate was observed.
Conclusions:
- Falls through open manholes result in a low incidence of severe injuries, but these are preventable.
- Increased reporting in recent years highlights the need for greater focus on manhole safety to prevent such incidents.
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