ARCHIVED - Injuries associated with... PERSONAL POWERED WATERCRAFT (PPW)

Entire CHIRPP database, as of June 1998, all ages

SUMMARY (81 records)

Injuries associated with PPWs were sustained most frequently by patients 20 years of age or older (49.4%). Of all injuries related to PPWs, 59.3% were to males. Many patients (29.6%) lost control of their PPW and hit against it or got caught up in the handle or a cord attached to the PPW (while riding or after falling off of the PPW). The most common type of injury was bruising, abrasion or inflammation, 29.6%. The body part most commonly injured was the head or neck, 33.7%. Injuries that required advice only or minor treatment accounted for 44.4% of patients, while 25.9% of patients needed medical follow-up after leaving the emergency department and 28.4% were admitted to hospital. The percentage of PPW injuries requiring hospitalization is approximately four times higher than the average for all injuries in the CHIRPP database.

SPECIFICATIONS OF THE SEARCH

In June 1998, a search of the entire CHIRPP database (777,901 records) was conducted. No age restriction was specified in the search. Records were selected if i) either the mechanism, breakdown or contributing factors were sea-doos or jet skis (code 2063) or ii) the text fields contained any of the following strings: "JET SKI", "JETSKI", "JET-SKI", "SEA DOO", "SEADOO", or "SEA-DOO". The total number of records identified was 81.

OVERALL OCCURRENCE

^* These numbers are approximate. At the date of search, data input for 1997 was not yet complete.

AGE AND SEX DISTRIBUTION OF INJURIES

^* Of all injuries in the entire CHIRPP database, 59.6% were sustained by males.
^** The number of injuries associated with PPWs per 100,000 CHIRPP injuries of all types within the age group indicated. Because CHIRPP collects information from ten children's hospitals and only six of the general hospitals, there is a high number of young children in the database. Using number per 100,000 within an age group (instead of overall percent by age group) adjusts for different age group distributions.
^*** Of the six patients less than 10 years of age, only one (aged 9 years) was the driver.

TIME AT WHICH INJURY OCCURRED

DAY DURING WHICH INJURY OCCURRED

MONTH DURING WHICH INJURY OCCURRED

WHERE THE INJURY OCCURRED

WHAT HAPPENED WHEN INJURY OCCURRED

Note: The following is a list of frequently occurring circumstances and factors in injuries related to PPW's. Each patient was assigned to a single category and percentages were based on 81 persons injured. Category assignment was based on the level of detail available in the description of the injury.

NATURE OF INJURY AND BODY PART INJURED

Up to three injuries may be specified for each record. Fourteen patients (17.3%) sustained more than one injury; 10 patients (12.4%) sustained two injuries and 4 patients (4.9%) sustained three.

TREATMENT PROVIDED IN THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT

^* The percentage of all CHIRPP injuries that resulted in hospital admission was 6.2%.
^** Fatalities counted by CHIRPP include only those patients who were dead on arrival at the emergency department or who died in the emergency department. They do not include people who died before they could be taken to hospital or those who died after hospital admission. Only 0.03% of all CHIRPP injuries were fatal.

PROFILE OF PATIENTS ADMITTED TO HOSPITAL

Of the 23 patients admitted to hospital, 14 were males and 9 were females; 8 patients were aged 10-14 years, 6 were 20 years or older, 5 were aged 15-19 years, 3 were aged 5-9 years and one was 2-4 years old.

A total of 13 patients collided with another PPW or hit something, 4 patients hit against or got caught in their PPW, 2 patients fell off of their PPW, 2 patients were hit by a PPW as bystanders and the circumstances of injury were unknown for 2 patients.

Eleven patients sustained fractures (3 of the head and 8 of the upper leg), 2 patients sustained bruising (one of the neck and one of the trunk), 2 patients suffered cuts and lacerations (one of the trunk and one of the lower leg), 2 patients suffered an injury to an internal organ in the abdomen, 2 patients suffered multiple injuries, 1 patient sustained a minor head injury, 1 patient suffered a concussion, 1 patient sustained an intracranial injury and 1 patient nearly drowned.

SUGGESTED REFERENCE AND REPORTING INFORMATION

This report and data from it may be copied and circulated freely, provided that the source is acknowledged. The following citation is recommended:

Injury data were obtained from the database of the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP), Public Health Agency of Canada.

If data from this report are included in any other document or publication, it should be noted, where appropriate, that the information comes from sixteen hospitals (ten pediatric and six general) across Canada.

For additional information on the CHIRPP program, please contact the Child Injury Section, Public Health Agency of Canada by phone at (613) 941-9918 or by FAX at (613) 941-9927.