Injuries from Skiing and Snowboarding

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate patients with injuries from skiing and snowboarding who were admitted to the Department of Emergency Medicine, Gunma University Hospital.

Methods: We examined injured sites, injury severity, and the clinical course of patients who were injured while skiing and snowboarding and were admitted to our department between January 2002 and December 2018.

Results: Among the 5,448 patients admitted to our department during this period, there were 23 cases (0.42%) with injuries from skiing (n=8, 35%) and snowboarding (n=15, 65%). Injury to the abdomen and pelvic organs (14 cases) was most common. The medians of the revised trauma score, injury severity score, and possibility of survival were 7.8408, 9, and 0.9942, respectively. Emergent procedures such as operation or transcatheter arterial embolization were performed in 4 cases. The median duration of hospitalization was 6.0 days and all 23 patients improved and left our hospital or transferred to other hospitals uneventfully.

Conclusion: Injury from skiing and snowboarding can be severe, therefore, treatment in a suitable medical institution is required.