Objective: To determine the association between pediatric restraint use during motor vehicle crashes and patient transports by emergency medical services (EMS) providers.
Methods: Children under 16 years of age who were involved in motor vehicle crashes in Houston or Harris County, Texas, in 1997 were identified from Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) crash data. DPS data were linked probabilistically to City of Houston Fire Department EMS data to identify whether the children were transported from the scene by EMS. Odds ratios were calculated to determine the association between restraint use and EMS transport. Logistic regression was used to control for age and injury severity in this relationship.
Results: From the linked data for 1997, 1,696 children were involved in reported automobile or truck crashes to which EMS responded. Of the 1,580 children about whom information concerning restraint use was available, 1,309 (83%) were wearing some type of safety restraint and 1,342 (85%) were transported by EMS. Adjusting for injury severity, children wearing safety restraints during motor vehicle crashes were 60% (95% confidence interval 34-75%) less likely to be transported by EMS than those not wearing safety restraints during such crashes.
Conclusions: The use of safety restraints during motor vehicle crashes is associated with a reduction in the number of children transported from the scene by EMS providers. This effect is independent of age and injury severity.