Motorcycle helmet effectiveness in reducing head, face and brain injuries by state and helmet law.

Background: Despite evidence that motorcycle helmets reduce morbidity and mortality, helmet laws and rates of helmet use vary by state in the U.S.

Methods: We pooled data from eleven states: five with universal laws requiring all motorcyclists to wear a helmet, and six with partial laws requiring only a subset of motorcyclists to wear a helmet.

Epidemiology of emergency department-treated traumatic brain injury in Minnesota.

A number of population-based studies have been published on mortality and hospitalizations associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, very little has been published on treatment of TBI in the emergency department (ED), despite the fact that most cases are seen in such settings. Minnesota is 1 of 2 states funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since 2001 to conduct surveillance of TBIs treated in EDs.

Epidemiology of trauma in Minnesota.

Injury accounts for more than 2,500 deaths and 300,000 hospital admissions in Minnesota each year. Using the 2002 Minnesota hospital discharge database, we examined the subset of hospital-treated injuries that received trauma care and categorized claims into trauma-related deaths, cases of nonfatal major trauma, and other cases that received specialized trauma care. We also examined where trauma patients received their care, the leading diagnoses for trauma deaths and nonfatal major trauma, and whether a statewide trauma system that would identify and equip more hospitals as trauma centers would have significant potential for improving trauma care in Minnesota.