Valleywise Health Medical Center, Creighton University Arizona Health Education Alliance, Department of Emergency Medicine, Phoenix, Arizona.
Stanford School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Palo Alto, California.
West J Emerg Med. 2023 Jul 17;24(4):798-804. doi: 10.5811/westjem.59381.
The Sonoran Desert region, encompassing most of southern Arizona, has an extreme climate that is famous for dust storms known as haboobs. These storms lead to decreased visibility and potentially hazardous driving conditions. In this study we evaluate the relationship between haboob events and emergency department (ED) visits due to motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) in Phoenix, Arizona.
This study is a retrospective analysis of MVC-related trauma presentations to Phoenix, AZ, hospitals before and following haboob dust storms. These events were identified from 2009-2017 primarily using Phoenix International Airport weather data. De-identified trauma data were obtained from the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) Arizona State Trauma Registry (ASTR) from seven trauma centers within a 10-mile radius of the airport. We compared MVC-related trauma using six- and 24-hour windows before and following the onset of haboob events.
There were 31,133 MVC-related trauma encounters included from 2009-2017 and 111 haboob events meeting meteorological criteria during that period. There was a 17% decrease in MVC-related ED encounters in the six hours following haboob onset compared to before onset (235 vs 283, P = 0.04), with proportionally more injuries among males (P < 0.001) and higher mortality (P = 0.02). There was no difference in frequency of presentations (P = 0.82), demographics, or outcomes among the 24-hour pre-and post-haboob groups.
Haboob dust storms in Phoenix, Arizona, are associated with a decrease in MVC-related injuries during the six-hour period following storm onset, likely indicating the success of public safety messaging efforts. Males made up a higher proportion of those injured during the storms, suggesting a target for future interventions. Future public-targeted weather-safety initiatives should be accompanied more closely by monitoring and evaluation efforts to assess for effectiveness.
索诺兰沙漠地区涵盖了亚利桑那州的大部分地区，拥有以尘暴著称的极端气候，这种尘暴被称为哈布博布。这些风暴会导致能见度降低，并可能导致驾驶条件危险。在这项研究中，我们评估了亚利桑那州凤凰城哈布博布尘暴事件与因机动车碰撞（MVC）而导致的急诊科就诊之间的关系。
这是一项对亚利桑那州凤凰城 MVC 相关创伤就诊的回顾性分析，研究对象为尘暴前后的医院就诊情况。这些事件主要通过凤凰城国际机场的天气数据从 2009 年至 2017 年进行识别。从距离机场 10 英里范围内的 7 个创伤中心获得了来自亚利桑那州卫生服务部（ADHS）亚利桑那州创伤登记处（ASTR）的去识别创伤数据。我们比较了尘暴前后 6 小时和 24 小时的 MVC 相关创伤。
2009 年至 2017 年期间，共有 31133 例 MVC 相关创伤就诊事件，期间有 111 次尘暴事件符合气象标准。与尘暴发生前相比，尘暴发生后 6 小时内 MVC 相关急诊就诊人数减少了 17%（235 人 vs 283 人，P = 0.04），其中男性受伤比例更高（P < 0.001），死亡率更高（P = 0.02）。在就诊频率（P = 0.82）、人口统计学特征或预后方面，尘暴发生前和发生后 24 小时的两组之间没有差异。
亚利桑那州凤凰城的哈布博布尘暴与尘暴发生后 6 小时内 MVC 相关损伤的减少有关，这可能表明公共安全信息宣传工作取得了成功。在风暴期间，男性受伤比例更高，这表明未来的干预措施应该针对这一人群。未来针对公众的天气安全倡议应更密切地监测和评估效果。
