A Retrospective Study on the Outcomes of Injuries From Border Wall Falls

Objective Our retrospective cohort study focuses on the outcomes of injuries sustained from falls from the USA-Mexico border wall. The purpose of this study is to understand and predict the types of injuries that will be present in patients who fall from the border wall. This can further help trauma response teams to better predict and prepare for the care of these patients.  Methods  This retrospective cohort study included all patients that were admitted to Desert Regional Medical Center, a trauma I center, after a fall from the border wall that ranged from heights of 15 to 30 feet. The admissions occurred between March 2016 to December 2021.  Results  Of the 108 patients included, 38.2% (78) sustained at least one lower extremity injury, of which the most common was injury to the calcaneus bone. Additionally, there were several concomitant injuries, of which the combination of lower extremity and lumbar injury was found to be the most common (11.2%). The injury severity score (ISS) was found to not be statistically significant (ɑ=0.05) between groups of patients whose length of stay (LOS) in the hospital was greater than 10 days and less than 10 days. There was 1% fatality (1 of 108) and 92.5% required surgical intervention (100 of 108).  Conclusions Patients injured from border wall falls are more likely to sustain lower extremity injuries than injuries to other parts of the body. Additionally, patients with lower extremity injuries sustained lumbar spinal injuries concomitantly, which can be most likely attributed to the axial compression of the spine during these falls. Most of these injuries required surgery and hospital admissions to treat. Understanding the patterns of injury from border wall falls can further help trauma response teams treat patients with efficient management.