Analysis of different safety devices in the prevention of motorcycle-related craniofacial trauma - A retrospective study (original) (raw)

Motorcycle accidents represent, in many countries, one of the main causes of trauma submitted to the attention of maxillofacial surgeons: [1,2] Bikers are exposed to 30 times greater risk of suffering trauma compared to car drivers. [3] Safety devices are able to influence the severity of injuries: [4] there are many helmet types available on the market with variable protection profiles [Figure 1]. Aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of different safety devices in motorcycle-related road accidents, focusing on the prevention of craniofacial injuries, measured using comprehensive facial injury (CFI) score [5,6] and abbreviated injury score (AIS-Head) for head injuries. Methods This retrospective observational study enrolled 440 patients with motorcycle-related trauma evaluated between January 2002 and February 2019 by a team of five surgeons experienced in maxillofacial injuries and shared between two Level I Trauma Centers in Northern Italy. Patients of