Clinical characteristics and treatment of 147 patients with winter ice and snow sports injuries in Xinjiang / 中华创伤骨科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics and treatment methods of the patients who suffered from ice and snow sports injuries in Xinjiang in winter so that useful information can be provided for medical service for ice and snow sports.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of 147 patients who had sought medical attention for ice and snow sports injuries at Department of Orthopaedics, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from November 2018 to March 2022. The basic information, injury site, injury type, injury cause, length of hospitalization, and treatment methods of the patients were classified and statistically analyzed. The χ2 test was used to compare the injury site and type in patients of different ages, and the nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test to compare the length of hospitalization in patients of different ages. Results:Of the 147 patients, 73 were males and 74 females with an age of (27.8±15.6) years. The top 3 injury sites were the lower limb (36.91%, 55/149), the upper limb (31.54%, 47/149), and the head and face (14.77%, 22/149). The top 3 injury types were fractures (61.90%, 91/147), skin and soft tissue lesions (14.97%, 22/147), and ligament lesions (10.20%, 15/147). The main causes for injury were fall (58.50%, 86/147), sprain (20.41%, 30/147), and bruise (19.73%, 29/147). Of the 91 patients with fractures, 55 (60.44%, 55/91) underwent surgical treatment, and 32 (35.16%, 32/91) closed reduction and plaster/brace external fixation. Eight of the 22 patients with soft tissue lesions (36.36%, 8/22) and 7 of the 15 patients with ligament lesions (46.67%, 7/15) underwent surgical treatment. The length of hospitalization for the 147 patients was 6.0 (4.0, 9.0) d. The differences in injury site and injury type were statistically significant between different age groups of patients, and the length of hospitalization was significantly different between different age groups of fracture patients ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Young people are the population who suffered from the most injuries due to ice and snow sports in winter in Xinjiang. Injury sites, injury types, and lengths of hospitalization varied with different age groups. Fractures were the most common type of injury. The participants of ice and snow sports should be fully aware that ice and snow sports are highly risky and thus avoid high-risk movements. Doctors should consider the patient's age, injury site, and injury type comprehensively when they formulate specific diagnostic and treatment schemes.