Is there a correlation between season and weather patterns on trauma admissions?

Trauma volume can vary significantly throughout the year. Identifying factors associated with trauma volume variation can be helpful in allocating resources and staff during busy trauma periods. The present study aimed to determine the relationship between overall orthopaedic trauma volume, mechanism of injury, site and acuity of injury and weather variables.

Orthopaedic trauma consultations between July 1, 2019 and July 1, 2022 at a single Level 1 trauma center were identified using an institutional database. Patient demographics, mechanism and location of injury, and acuity were collected. Time-series analysis with Poisson models and multivariate analysis was utilized to examine the relationship between daily weather variables and the total number consults, acuity, and mechanism or site of injury.

8699 patients were included. Overall trauma consults were positively associated with temperature and negatively associated with precipitation and humidity. Trauma acuity was positively correlated with temperature. Motor vehicle collision (MVC) and falls were positively associated with temperature and negatively associated with humidity. Gunshot wounds (GSW) were only positively associated with temperature. Of the injury sites examined, only cervical injuries were not positively associated with temperature. Shoulder and elbow, cervical, leg and knee, and foot and ankle injuries were negatively associated with humidity. Foot and ankle injuries were negatively associated with precipitation.

Overall, temperature was positively associated with trauma volume and acuity, while precipitation and humidity were negatively associated. By contrast, snow, wind speed, baro pressure, visibility, UV index, and moon phase were not associated with outcomes. As peak temperatures occurred in the summer while the greatest humidity and lowest precipitation occurred in the winter, these findings confirm long-held theories about increased trauma volumes in summer months and support increasing access and resource allocation in trauma.