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Incidence of Sport-Related Internal Organ Injuries Due to Direct-Contact Mechanisms Among High School and Collegiate Athletes Across 3 National Surveillance Systems.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Kucera, KL; Currie, DW; Wasserman, EB; Kerr, ZY; Thomas, LC; Paul, S; Comstock, RD
Published in: J Athl Train
February 2019

CONTEXT: Although sport-related internal organ injuries among athletes are relatively infrequent, combining data sources enables a more comprehensive examination of their incidence. OBJECTIVE: To describe the incidence and characteristics of sport-related internal organ injuries due to direct-contact mechanisms among high school (HS) and collegiate athletes from 2005-2006 through 2014-2015. DESIGN: Descriptive epidemiology study. SETTING: United States HS and collegiate sports data from 3 national sports injury-surveillance systems: High School Reporting Information Online (HS RIO), the National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance Program (ISP), and the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS: High school and collegiate athletes in organized sports. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Characteristics of the athlete, event, and injury were examined and stratified by data source and sport. Descriptive statistics of internal organ injuries via direct-contact mechanisms consisted of frequencies and incidence rates (IRs) per 1 000 000 athlete-exposures and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: During the 10-year period, 174 internal organ injuries were captured: 124 in HS RIO and 41 in the ISP; 9 were catastrophic. Most noncatastrophic injuries occurred among males (RIO = 85%, ISP = 89%), in football (RIO = 65%, ISP = 58%), and during competitions (RIO = 67%, ISP = 49%) and were due to player-player contact (RIO = 78%, ISP = 68%). The highest injury rates were in male contact sports: RIO football (IR = 11.7; 95% CI = 9.1, 14.2) and lacrosse (IR = 10.0; 95% CI = 3.1, 16.9); ISP: football (IR = 8.3; 95% CI = 5.0, 11.6) and ice hockey (IR = 7.9; 95% CI = 1.0, 14.7). A quarter of noncatastrophic injuries were season ending (RIO = 25%, ISP = 23%). Of the 9 catastrophic injuries, most occurred in HS (7/9) and football (7/9) and were due to player-player contact (6/9). Four resulted in death. CONCLUSIONS: Direct-contact internal organ injuries occur infrequently; yet when they do occur, they may result in severe outcomes. These findings suggest that early recognition and a better understanding of the activities associated with the event and use or nonuse of protective equipment are needed.

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Published In

J Athl Train

DOI

EISSN

1938-162X

Publication Date

February 2019

Volume

54

Issue

2

Start / End Page

152 / 164

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Wrestling
  • Universities
  • United States
  • Thoracic Injuries
  • Students
  • Sport Sciences
  • Soccer
  • Schools
  • Racquet Sports
  • Male
 

Citation

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Chicago
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Kucera, K. L., Currie, D. W., Wasserman, E. B., Kerr, Z. Y., Thomas, L. C., Paul, S., & Comstock, R. D. (2019). Incidence of Sport-Related Internal Organ Injuries Due to Direct-Contact Mechanisms Among High School and Collegiate Athletes Across 3 National Surveillance Systems. J Athl Train, 54(2), 152–164. https://doi.org/10.4085/1062-6050-271-17
Kucera, Kristen L., Dustin W. Currie, Erin B. Wasserman, Zachary Y. Kerr, Leah Cox Thomas, Stephen Paul, and R Dawn Comstock. “Incidence of Sport-Related Internal Organ Injuries Due to Direct-Contact Mechanisms Among High School and Collegiate Athletes Across 3 National Surveillance Systems.J Athl Train 54, no. 2 (February 2019): 152–64. https://doi.org/10.4085/1062-6050-271-17.
Kucera KL, Currie DW, Wasserman EB, Kerr ZY, Thomas LC, Paul S, et al. Incidence of Sport-Related Internal Organ Injuries Due to Direct-Contact Mechanisms Among High School and Collegiate Athletes Across 3 National Surveillance Systems. J Athl Train. 2019 Feb;54(2):152–64.
Kucera, Kristen L., et al. “Incidence of Sport-Related Internal Organ Injuries Due to Direct-Contact Mechanisms Among High School and Collegiate Athletes Across 3 National Surveillance Systems.J Athl Train, vol. 54, no. 2, Feb. 2019, pp. 152–64. Pubmed, doi:10.4085/1062-6050-271-17.
Kucera KL, Currie DW, Wasserman EB, Kerr ZY, Thomas LC, Paul S, Comstock RD. Incidence of Sport-Related Internal Organ Injuries Due to Direct-Contact Mechanisms Among High School and Collegiate Athletes Across 3 National Surveillance Systems. J Athl Train. 2019 Feb;54(2):152–164.

Published In

J Athl Train

DOI

EISSN

1938-162X

Publication Date

February 2019

Volume

54

Issue

2

Start / End Page

152 / 164

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Wrestling
  • Universities
  • United States
  • Thoracic Injuries
  • Students
  • Sport Sciences
  • Soccer
  • Schools
  • Racquet Sports
  • Male