Abstract
Evidence suggests that there 17% rise in cycling related injuries in the last year. The objective of the study is to analyze the pattern of injuries in cyclists who were treated as a MTC. This is a retrospective study performed at a Tertiary Trauma Centre in central London. All cyclists who were admitted as MTC to hospital between January 2011 and August 2013 were included. Overall there were 518 patients who were treated as vehicle- related Major Trauma Cases, out of which 118 (23%) were cyclists. Of the 118 cyclists, 98 (83%) were male and 20 (17%) female. The mean Injury Severity Score was 19.2 ±11.1 (mean/SD). There were 58 (49%) patients who required ITU support. Major proportion of patients (68 patients – 61%) sustained neurological injuries. There were 2 (1.7%) deaths, both due to neurological injuries. In comparison to other group of vehicles there is less number of bicycles on the roads. Our results show that the proportion of cyclists involved in road traffic incidents is higher (23%) than other vehicles. Our results show that large proportions (61%) of cyclists sustain neurological injuries, reinforcing the previous evidence that safe protective head gear is vital for cyclists.
