With the increasing number of air bag-equipped vehicles, there has been a corresponding increase in the incidence of air bag-associated ocular trauma. We encountered a 38 years old man who sustained corneal damage, hyphema, angle recession, medial wall fracture, and visual damage by choroidal rupture of macula due to an inflated air bag in motor vehicle accident and brief review of related literature is presented.
Adult ; Air Bags* ; Choroid ; Humans ; Hyphema ; Incidence ; Motor Vehicles ; Rupture

Automobile airbags have been shown to reduce morbidity and mortality in the event of a vehicle crash; however, new problems have been identified. Among these problems, direct injury from the airbag itself has become a serious concern. This suggests that an airbag itself may not be safe. Burn injury from airbags accounts for about 7.8% of all injuries caused by vehicle crashes. There are three types of burn injuries from airbags: Thermal, chemical, and frictional. Moreover, there are three subtypes within the category of thermal airbag burn, as identified by Tsunetuki in 2003. Herein, we review a case of an airbag burn and report a unique burn case on ‘an upper extremity’, including both thermal and frictional burns.
Air Bags* ; Automobiles ; Burns* ; Friction ; Hot Temperature ; Mortality ; Upper Extremity*

In order to solve the problem of continuous monitoring and automatic regulation of patient airbag pressure in intensive care unit, the study designed an intelligent management system of artificial airway airbag pressure. It can realize real-time monitoring and automatic control of airbag pressure. Its pressure data was sent to the PC in real time by the serial port. It can realize the display, store, review and analysis of pressure data. Its clinical application effect was discussed. Experiments showed that the system can monitor airbag pressure in real time and control the pressure to stabilize at 25~30 cmH
Air Bags ; Critical Care ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Monitoring, Physiologic

Air bag has gained increasing acceptance as a device that reduce serious head and chest injury in vehicle accident. Although air bag reduces incidence and severity of facial and periorbital trauma, the possibility of ocular trauma by air bag inflation itself cannot be trivialized. We experienced a patient who developed hyphema, angle recession and macular hemorrhage after air bag inflation, and reviewed the available literatures regarding this type of injury.
Air Bags* ; Head ; Hemorrhage* ; Humans ; Hyphema* ; Incidence ; Inflation, Economic ; Thoracic Injuries

In the criminal cases of driving under the influence (DUI), DNA evidence can be collected from the deployed airbag of the motor vehicle and submitted to the crime lab for touch DNA analysis. The evidence can be acquired when the skin cells are observed on the surface of the airbag in a traffic accident. However, the low quantity or quality of the evidence collected from a crime scene prevents further identification analysis in many cases. In the current study, we reported a case of identifying touch DNA extraction from the shed skin cells from the deployed airbag of a motor vehicle. We managed to collect DNA evidence from the shed skin cells in an airbag using a proper approach of collection and extraction. The 5.87 ng of extracted DNA was sufficient for genotyping and forensic identification, which helped to identify the driver of the car in collision with a pier in the street. In DUI cases and other traffic accidents, therefore, the amount of touch DNA extracted from the deployed airbag can be sufficient for DNA marker genotyping and further analysis.
Accidents, Traffic ; Air Bags ; Alcoholic Intoxication ; Crime ; DNA/analysis* ; Genotype ; Humans ; Motor Vehicles ; Skin/cytology* ; Touch

OBJECTIVE: Poor head and neck support during sleep can exacerbate the neck pain. Based on the ideal sleep posture and pillow suggested by Cyriax, we designed a new cervical pillow and compared the degree of pain reduction, quality of sleep and pillow satisfaction with a low hospital pillow and a high pillow. METHOD: The newly designed pillow has a built-in pressure-adjustable air bag in the cervical area and provides normal cervical lordotic curve in supine position and maintains cervical and thoracic vertebrae to form a horizontal line in side-lying position. Thiry-four patients with cervical pain used low hospital pillows for the first week of 3-week randomized crossover design study. They were subsequently randomly assigned to use each of the other two pillows for 1-week period. Outcomes were measured using visual analog scale, sleep questionnaire and a pillow satisfaction scale. RESULT: Compared with the other 2 types of pillows, subjects using the newly designed pillow showed much reduced pain intensity, increased duration of sleep and sleep quality and better pillow satisfaction. CONCLUSION: We designed a cervical pillow with built-in pressure adjustable air bag and it can significantly reduce pain intensity and improve quality of sleep in patients with cervical pain.
Air Bags ; Cross-Over Studies ; Head ; Humans ; Neck ; Neck Pain ; Posture ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Supine Position ; Thoracic Vertebrae ; Visual Analog Scale

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to suggest methods for construction of a database for in-depth analysis of the relationship between occupant injury and vehicle damage in domestic motor vehicle crash accidents through analysis of real examples of real motor vehicle crash accidents. METHODS: Among patients who visited the emergency room of three domestic hospitals due to motor vehicle crash accidents from January 2011 to September 2011, we collected data on patients with an ISS (Injury Severity Score) over 16. In addition, we surveyed the cause of the accident, information on vehicles involved in the accident, the type and amount of damage inflicted on the vehicle, and the severity of injury of the patient. Damage to the vehicle was presented using the CDC (Collision Deformation Classification) code by evaluation of photo-images of the damaged vehicle, and a trauma score was used for evaluation of the severity of the patient's injury. RESULTS: Of 76 cases of motor vehicle accidents, the number of subjects was 87, with an average age of 43.2+/-17.9. Of these, 68(78.2%) subjects were males, 65(74.7%) subjects were drivers, 35(42.2%) subjects had fastened their seat belts, and, in 15(19.7%) cases, the airbag was deployed in the accident. Averages of ISS and RTS (Revised Trauma Score) were 32.3 and 6.6, respectively. Among 45 cases of frontal collision, chest injury was the most common (30,66.7%), and average AIS (Abbreviated Injury Scale) of chest injury was the highest (3.1+/-0.7). Severity of head injury (AIS 1) and mean ISS by PDoF (Principal Direction of Force) showed a significant difference (p<0.001, p=0.003, respectively), and mean ISS between seat belt users and non-users also differed (23.8 vs. 37.5, p=0.002). In addition, the occupant's mean ISS in vehicles whose airbag was deployed was lower (23.7 vs. 33.9), however, no statistically significant difference was observed (p=0.123). CONCLUSION: For analysis of the relationship between occupant injury and vehicle damage in domestic motor vehicle crash accidents, construction of an in-depth database through the national surveillance system for motor vehicle traffic accidents is necessary.
Accidents, Traffic ; Air Bags ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) ; Craniocerebral Trauma ; Emergencies ; Humans ; Injury Severity Score ; Male ; Motor Vehicles ; Pilot Projects ; Seat Belts ; Thoracic Injuries

Sodium azide (NaN3) is a white to colorless, crystalline powder that is highly water soluble, tasteless, and odorless. It is used mainly as a preservative in aqueous laboratory reagents and biologic fluids and also as an automobile airbag gas generant. Although it has caused deaths for decades, the toxic properties and effects of sodium azide in humans remains unknown. A 31-year-old comatose female was transported to the emergency department with an empty bottle labeled sodium azide. She developed cardiac arrest 15 minutes after arrival and expired in spite of 30 minutes of resuscitative effort. Subsequently, resuscitation team members incidentally suffered from sodium azide's exposure and developed eye discomfort, skin rashes parasthesias, pruritus, sore throat, and headache.
Adult ; Air Bags ; Automobiles ; Coma ; Crystallins ; Eating ; Emergencies ; Exanthema ; Eye ; Female ; Headache ; Heart Arrest ; Humans ; Indicators and Reagents ; Pharyngitis ; Pruritus ; Resuscitation ; Sodium ; Sodium Azide

To determine whether age, weight, height, vertebral column length, body mass index, or abdominal circumference might influence the distribution of sensory analgesia after epidural anesthesia, 100 women presenting for cesarean section were studied. All received 26 mg of 2.0% lidocaine mixed with 8.4% bicarbonate 1 ml/lidocaine 10 ml and 1:300,000 epinephrine, including 3 ml of test dose, through the epidural catheter inserted in L3-4 interspace. While the women lay supine on a horizontal operating table with the air bag under their right hip, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 30 minutes after injection, the cephalad extent of sensory analgesia (loss of sensation of sharpness to pin prick) was determined. Age (31.9+/-3.8 years), weight (69.2+/-9.3 kg), height (158.9+/-4,5 cm), vertebral column length (59.8+/-5.0 cm), body mass index (27.4+/-3.2 kg/m(2)), and abdominal circumference (103.5+/-10.2 cm) did not correlate with the maximum level of sensory analgesia. In conclusion, in parturients of age, weight, height, vertebral column length, body mass index and aMominal circumference of the above values, it is not necerrary to vary dose of injected local anesthetics with changes in any of the patient variables studied.
Air Bags ; Analgesia ; Anesthesia, Epidural* ; Anesthetics, Local ; Body Mass Index ; Catheters ; Cesarean Section* ; Epinephrine ; Female ; Hip ; Humans ; Lidocaine ; Operating Tables ; Pregnancy ; Sensation ; Spine

Air-bags have received widespread support as an effective means of enhancing automotive safety, and they are becoming more common as standard automobile equipment on many cars. Although air-bag induced ocular injuries are rare, they present a serious concern because of the possibility of permanent damage or visual impairment. To date, most reports have investigated ocular injury from high velocity motor vehicle accidents and reports of ocular injury from low speed motor vehicle accidents have been rare. We describe a patient who sustained severe ocular injury, including periorbital fracture, hyphema, vitreous hemorrhage, and choroidal rupture of the macular area, due to an inflated air-bag in a low speed motor vehicle accident.
Accidents, Traffic ; Adult ; Air Bags/*adverse effects ; Choroid/*injuries ; Eye Injuries/*etiology ; Female ; Humans ; Hyphema/*etiology ; Orbital Fractures/*etiology/radiography ; Rupture ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Vitreous Hemorrhage/*etiology/ultrasonography