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- Methods and Effect
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Methods and Effect of the Accident Research Unit of the Hannover Medical School

At the Trauma Department of the Hannover Medical School extensive efforts are made concerning injury prevention. Many technical, clinical and experimental studies have been performed to improve the prevention in different fields of trauma [4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14].

Accident Research Unit from the Trauma Department, Hannover Medical School

The Accident Research Unit analyses traffic accidents with the aim to improve traffic safety, to prevent injuries and to minimize injury severity. In an ongoing prospective study since 1973, traffic accidents are investigated by the unit´s scientific team at the accident scene and the first medical institution providing care. The studies at the Accident Research Units are focussed on different body regions, i.e. head, thorax, spine, pelvis, arm, foot etc., on different groups of persons, i.e. children, adult, elderly etc., on different groups of road users, i.e. car occupants, pedestrians, motocyclists etc., or on different passive safety devices, i.e. airbag, side impact protection, helmets etc. [4,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13]. Special studies concerning prevention in other fields e.g. prevention of non-traffic accident related injuries in the elderly population or secondary prevention in prehospital trauma care have also been performed [5,14]. Furthermore, experimental studies with cadaver have also been performed [4,13]

Data collection by the Accident Research Unit

The accident reports were prepared by our Accident Research Unit’s scientific teams. These teams arrive promptly at the accident in their own vehicles following notification from police dispatchers. In Hannover and the surrounding rural district, approximately 6,000 vehicular accidents with consequent injuries occur each year. Since 1988, around 1,000 (17%) of these collisions have been documented per year; this record was planned according to a statistical sample design. From 1973 to 1987, an average of 300 vehicular collisions per year were evaluated. In addition to the technical information and an evaluation of the damage to the vehicles, the files also include the medical records outlining the types and severity of the injuries of the occupants. The restraint status in car or utility vehicle occupants was determined by history or by assessment of the injury pattern. Photographs of the collision scene and both inside and outside of the vehicles involved as well as the relevant radiographic films are collected by the Accident Research Unit. With these data, the injury mechanisms are evaluated in detail (collision type, impulse angle, extent of passenger compartment deformation, Delta-v). This reconstruction is done by the staff of the Accident Research Unit under the guidance of an engineer. All diagnoses are documented and the injury severity is classified according to the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS), the Injury Severity Score (ISS), and the Hannover Polytrauma Score[1,2,3]. This documentation is done by the staff of the Accident Research Unit. Also, the surgical staff at the medical institution where the patients have been treated is interrogated about the clinical diagnoses.

Correlation Accident Research with Clinical Studies

The data from the Accident Research Unit are also correlated with clinical data from studies at our Level 1 Trauma Centre, e.g. in more than 100 car occupants that suffered a thoracic trauma and that were analysed from our Accident Research Unit and from the teams in the trauma centre [6]. in these studies, the injury severity and the clinical course demonstrated a positive correlation with the crash severity. Therefore, our technical accident analysis allows to predict the severity of injury and the clinical course. It may consequently serve as a tool to develop more sophisticated injury prevention strategies and improve passive car safety.

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