Current Trends Occupational Finger Injuries -- United
States, 1982
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, in
collaboration with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, surveys
occupational injuries treated at a representative sample of
hospital
emergency rooms in the United States (1,2). These data permit
estimates of the number of persons treated for occupational
injuries,
secular trends in incidence, anatomical site of the injury, rates
of
injury by age and sex (in conjunction with data on employment) (3),
and other epidemiologic indices.
From January 1, to December 31, 1982, an estimated 3,199,359
patients with occupational injuries were treated in hospital
emergency
rooms in the United States (Table 1). Of these, an estimated
823,343
(25.7%) were treated for finger injuries. Of the 823,343, an
estimated 13,500 (1.6%) suffered amputation of one or more fingers.
Estimated incidence rates for occupational finger injuries,
based
on estimated numbers of persons injured per "100 person work
years"*
by sex and age, were also calculated (Table 2). Although the
differences between groups varied widely, the overall ratio of
injury
incidence rates for males to injury incidence rates for females
approximates 1.5.
Available information on the nature of the injury and the agent
or
source causing the injury permits listing by nature and source,
which
provides some understanding of the epidemiology of these injuries.
The 10 listings of nature and source observed most commonly in
occupational finger injuries account for 37.8% of all such injuries
(Table 3). Lacerations caused by knives were the most frequent
single
cause, accounting for more than 10% of occupational injuries to
fingers, followed by puncture wounds from hypodermic needles.
Reported by Div of Safety Research, National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health, CDC.
Editorial Note
Editorial Note: These surveillance data emphasize the immensity of
the problem of occupational injuries. Because the National
Electronic
Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) through which these data were
collected includes neither patients seen in industrial clinics nor
physicians' offices, the estimates produced are underestimates. It
is
not unreasonable to assume that, if all sources of care were
included
in the reporting system, a million or more workers were treated for
significant finger injuries in 1982. The young male worker appears
to
be at highest risk; rates for those under 20 years of age are five
to
six times higher than rates for workers over 35 years of age.
Among
young workers, rates for males far exceed those for females,
although
rates by sex are similar for persons in age groups 35 to 64 years.
Available information about the nature and source of these
injuries confirms that they occur in a wide array of industries,
including construction, food processing, health-care delivery, and
transportation. Hypodermic needles, knives, slicers, and/or
choppers
account for nearly 22% of all occupational finger injuries. Since
these objects are specifically designed and used to puncture or
cut,
efforts to find measures for preventing these injuries pose a
special
challenge. These observations indicate the need for descriptive
epidemiologic investigations of occupational injuries to formulate
appropriate and effective means of prevention.
References
CDC. Occupational injury surveillance--United States. MMWR
1981;30:578-9.
CDC. Surveillance of occupational injuries treated in hospital
emergency rooms--United States. MMWR 1983;32:89-90.
Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment and earnings series.
Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Labor, 1982;29.
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