Let’s NOT Go Surfing Now

When the Beachboys sang ‘Everybody’s Gone Surfin’ I’m fairly sure they were thinking about waxed boards, shaggy blond hair and ocean waves.

50 years later surfing is a term also associated with browsing the web and more recently with the increasingly popular teen past-time of clinging to the exterior of a speeding car.

The “sport” of car surfing is alarming health experts. National statistics have shown a steady rise in car surfing fatalities. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), since 1990, at least 99 people have died or sustained serious injuries as a result of car surfing.

“Broken bones and road rash – severe skin abrasions caused by impact from a fall – are minor injuries from car-surfing,” said Thomas Esposito, MD, chief of the Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care and Burns in the Department of Surgery at Loyola University Medical Center. “Head injuries are very prevalent and the effects are devastating.” Young people believe they are invincible but several seconds of thoughtless, risky behavior can lead to a lifetime of permanent disability or even death.”

The national rise in car surfing fatalities corresponds with the introduction of media depictions of the activity in movies, video games and in social media “For those desiring their five minutes of fame, social media such as YouTube and Facebook offer perceived fame and instant gratification,” said Esposito. “Replicating a dangerous stunt and capturing it with a cellphone may seem like a cool idea but can have serious long-term consequences.”

According to the CDC, males are more likely to car surf than females and the average age of persons injured as a result of car surfing is 17.6 years. A larger than average proportion of injuries occur among teen males ages 15 to 19. Injuries have been reported in 31 states, with 39% of these coming from the Midwest and 35% from the South.

Esposito notes that one of the key risks is sudden, unanticipated car maneuvers such as accelerating, swerving or braking, that can force a car surfer off of the vehicle. “People who fall off a moving vehicle may suffer brain contusions, broken bones, fractured skulls, loss of consciousness, internal bleeding, paralysis and death.”

Parents take note! If your teenage son asks to borrow the car to go surfing, just check he’s got his board and is headed off to the beach.  Car surfing is a dangerous game with stakes that are too high if they lose.

Dangerous When Drunk!

While we all understand the dangers of drinking and driving, how many people realize that drinking and walking is just as dangerous?  So, if you’ve decided to leave the car at home and just celebrate locally this New Year’s Eve we’d like to bring you a cautionary tale.

According to trauma surgeon Dr. Thomas Esposito at Loyola University Health System “alcohol impairs your physical ability, period.”

A trauma surgeon for more than 25 years, Esposito has witnessed the tragic aftermath of drunkeness many times. A quarter of all pedestrian struck cases seen in his department, were found to have blood-alcohol concentrations at or above the accepted level for intoxication.  In 2005, the journal Injury Prevention reported that New Year’s Day is more deadly for pedestrians than any other day of the year. From 1986 to 2002, 410 pedestrians were killed on New Year’s Day. 58% of those killed had high blood-alcohol concentrations.

“If they had been driving and were stopped by police, they would have been arrested for driving under the influence,” Esposito said.

And it’s not just walking outside. Working, as I do, in Emergency Medicine, I often see people who have fallen down the stairs or tripped and injured themselves after drinking. Others have unwisely chosen to mix alcohol with guns, knives, bottles and fists, invariably with tragic consequences.

To avoid becoming a 2011 statistic, SRXA’s Word in Health brings you the following tips:

• Don’t wear dark clothing that can make it difficult for drivers to see you
• Stay out of the road. Use sidewalks and cross at designated crosswalks
• Walk in a group, preferably with a designated chaperone or escort

Stay safe & have a Happy New Year. We look forward to welcoming you back in 2012.

Generic drug could save lives of accident victims

A study just published in The Lancet suggests that routine use of the generic drug tranexamic acid in trauma patients could save as many as 100,000 lives a year.  Lead researcher, Ian Roberts, commented: “This is one of the cheapest ways ever to save a life,” adding that the drug “should be available to doctors treating trauma patients in all countries.”

The CRASH-2 trial was undertaken in 274 hospitals in 40 countries and included  20,211 adult trauma patients.  Those with, or at risk of, bleeding received either tranexamic acid, or placebo, within 8 hours of injury. Results showed that treatment with tranexamic acid reduced deaths from hemorrhage by 15% percent, and deaths from any other cause by 10%, compared to placebo.

Tranexamic acid is an antifibrinolytic agent.  In other words, it prevents breakdown of blood clots.  It is routinely used to control bleeding in women with heavy menstrual periods, bleeding associated with uterine fibroids, to control blood loss in orthopedic surgery and as a mouth rinse after dental extractions or surgery in patients with prolonged bleeding time from acquired or inherited disorders.

Following the study, Roberts and colleagues submitted an application to the World Health Organization to include tranexamic acid on its essential medicines list.