Farm Machinery Injuries: A Retrospective Analysis of Admissions at a Level I Trauma Center in North Dakota

ABSTRACT

Objectives

The purpose of the present study was to characterize the incidence, injury characteristics, and outcomes of patients presented to a Level I adult trauma center in Fargo, North Dakota, with farm machinery injuries (FMI).

Methods

We performed a retrospective review of the trauma registry of Sanford Medical Center Fargo (SMCF) between January 2010 and December 2020. We compared admission characteristics of FMI admissions to non-FMI admissions, identified the types of machinery that are most commonly associated with FMI, and described the nature of these injuries by severity, anatomical site, type, age, sex, and length of stay (LoS). Injury severity was evaluated using Injury Severity Score (ISS).

Results

Findings indicated that FMI admissions had a higher mean ISS, longer ICU LoS, and a higher mortality rate than non-FMI admissions. The leading cause of fatal and non-fatal FMI in this region are tractors. Males experience 91.2% of tractor injuries, and individuals 65 and over account for nearly 53% of all tractor injuries (n = 18). Males accounted for all deaths, tractor and otherwise. The “other machinery” category was the second most common category and accounted for 50% of female patients. Additionally, 24.5% of all FMI are related to machine maintenance.

Conclusion

The findings from this study indicate that FMI injuries represent a significant problem in the upper Midwest. Older, male farm workers experience a higher incidence of tractor-related injuries, and all tractor-related deaths occurred in individuals 65 years of age and older. These results underscore the need for further investigation into aging-related farm safety issues.

KEYWORDS:

• Agriculture
• injury
• farm machinery
• tractor
• trauma

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This project is supported by an Institutional Development Award (IDeA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under grant number 5P20GM121341.