Versteegen G J, Kingma J, Meijler W J, ten Duis H J
Pain Centre, Department of Anaesthesiology, University Hospital Groningen, The Netherlands.
Eur Spine J. 1998;7(3):195-200. doi: 10.1007/s005860050055.
During the 25-year period 1970-1994 694 patients were diagnosed with neck sprain resulting from a car accident at the Emergency Room of the University Hospital Groningen. The purpose of the present study was to analyse the prevalence, groups at risk and trends in these patients, taking into account changes in the number of cars per inhabitant and the average number of kilometres driven. We defined the population as car accident victims diagnosed with neck sprain. Binominal tests were used to obtain measures of statistical significance. Over the 25-year period a steady increase in the number of these patients was observed, from 10 in 1970 to 122 in 1994. The highest prevalence was found for the age group 25- to 29-year olds (28.3 per 100,000), followed by 40- to 44-year-olds (27.9 per 100,000). Across the life span, the male: female ratio was 1: 0.98. Eight percent of the victims were treated as inpatients. The increase in the number of car accident victims with neck sprain appears not to be an isolated phenomenon, because a parallel rise in the number of cars per inhabitant and in the average number of kilometres driven was found. No direct relation was observed between seat belt legislation and the increase in neck sprain injuries. The effect of the media on awareness of the consequences of car accidents is discussed.
在1970年至1994年的25年期间，格罗宁根大学医院急诊室诊断出694名因车祸导致颈部扭伤的患者。本研究的目的是分析这些患者的患病率、风险群体和趋势，同时考虑到人均汽车数量和平均行驶公里数的变化。我们将研究人群定义为被诊断为颈部扭伤的车祸受害者。采用二项式检验来获得统计学显著性的测量值。在这25年期间，观察到这类患者的数量稳步增加，从1970年的10例增加到1994年的122例。患病率最高的年龄组是25至29岁（每10万人中有28.3例），其次是40至44岁（每10万人中有27.9例）。在整个寿命周期内，男女比例为1:0.98。8%的受害者被作为住院患者治疗。颈部扭伤的车祸受害者数量的增加似乎不是一个孤立的现象，因为发现人均汽车数量和平均行驶公里数也在同步上升。未观察到安全带立法与颈部扭伤损伤增加之间存在直接关系。文中讨论了媒体对车祸后果认识的影响。
