Using crash information to improve the treatment of crash injuries

Abstract

This report examines whether there is evidence for the proposition that knowledge of the nature of a road crash aids in the treatment of injuries that arise from the crash. We reviewed published reports in which the utility of crash reports for triage was examined. We also reviewed the evidence in relation to chronic injury and whiplash injury in particular. There is some evidence that crash reports and information about the crash can assist in triage decisions and, in one study, steering wheel deformation was a good predictor of abdominal injury (which is hard to diagnose in some cases). There was very little direct evidence in relation to the treatment of chronic injury, but indirect evidence suggests that crash parameters that can be established, such as the change in velocity, are a poor predictor of chronic complaints. Any perceived benefit of crash reports in the treatment of chronic symptoms may arise as a result of their use in counselling the patient.