WEDNESDAY, Sept. 26, 2018 — From 2006 through 2013, the weighted estimate of lawn-mower-related injuries was 51,151, with the most common injuries being lacerations, fractures, and amputations, according to a study published online Aug. 1 in Public Health Reports.

Daniel G. Hottinger, M.D., from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, and colleagues conducted a retrospective study using population-based data from the U.S. Nationwide Emergency Department Sample for lawn-mower-related emergency department visits and hospitalizations from Jan. 1, 2006, through Dec. 31, 2013. Data were examined on demographic characteristics, age, geographic distribution, injury type and severity, and hospital charges.

The researchers found that during the eight-year period, the weighted estimate was 51,151 lawn-mower injuries. Lacerations, fractures, and amputations were the most common types of injuries (46.7, 22.4, and 21.5 percent, respectively). Wrist or hand and foot or toe were the most common injury locations (65.4 and 19.8 percent, respectively). The mean emergency department and inpatient charges were $2,482 and $36,987 per patient, respectively. Wound irrigation or debridement and amputation were the most common procedures performed (29.9 and 25.6 percent, respectively).

“Lawn-mower injuries occurred at a constant rate during the study period,” the authors write. “Changes to nationwide industry safety standards are needed to reduce the frequency and severity of these preventable injuries.”

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Posted: September 2018

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