Occupational Injury and Illness Requiring Hospitalization

Details

• Personal Author:
  Chen GX ; Jackson, Larry L. ; Layne LA
• Description:
  An estimated 3.6 million workers aged >/= 15 sought medical treatment in a hospital emergency department (ED) for an occupational injury or illness in the United States during 1998, as measured by a national probability , sample of hospitals. Ninety-eight percent of the workers were discharged from the ED, while 2% (77,246 +/-19,190, 95% confidence interval) were hospitalized for additional medical care. Workers hospitalized show significant differences (p<0.01) by sex, age, and injury demographics compared to the ED-discharged. Hospitalized patients were 85% male (65,571+/-16,582) and 15% female (11,675+/-3,397), whereas the ED-discharged were 70% male and 30% female. The hospitalized age-specific incident rates were higher among older patients, 10.4/10,000 workers for ages >/= 60 years compared to 6.2 for the <60. The ED-discharged incident rates steadily decreased with age. Injuries to the head, upper trunk/chest, and leg regions among the hospitalized showed more than a 2-fold increase in the proportion of cases, while amputations increased 14-fold, fractures 7-fold, and blunt head trauma 4-fold. By type of incident, falls from height accounted for 19% of the hospitalized cases, with falls from roofs increasing 19-fold, scaffolding 9-fold, and ladders 4-fold. Caught or compressed in equipment accounted for 12% of the hospitalized cases. Atypical chest pain (3%) and pedestrians struck by vehicles (2%) proportionately increased 14- and 7-fold. In conclusion, prevention of hospitalized nonfatal work events should focus in areas such as fall protection and machine guarding, similar to fatal prevention rather than areas dictated by most nonfatal incidents. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Age Factors Aging Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Occupational Injuries Safety
• Keywords:
  Accident Analysis Accident Rates Age Factors Age Groups Injuries Machine Guarding Occupational Accidents Occupational Hazards
• ISSN:
  0002-9262
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSR - Division of Safety Research
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  153
• Issue:
  11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20021361
• Citation:
  Am J Epidemiol 2001 Jun; 153(11)(Suppl):S76
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2001
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Epidemiology
• Supplement:
  Suppl
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d09385e71382063115efdda9ccd6bbc4746de3714a035ebd4e0b61766dc0036d5f545ace7fedfefa92b526719053bddb2c1a3ce540503164d2b8e8fd4877a070
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/198715/cdc_198715_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 98.78 KB ]