Escalator-related injuries in one of the deepest subway stations in Europe

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Escalator-related injuries (ERI) have emerged as a new injury type due to the frequent use of escalators in Metro stations.

OBJECTIVES: Investigate ERI in the stations on the Marmaray metro line.

DESIGN: Retrospective, observational study.

SETTING: Patients admitted to the emergency department of a training and research hospital.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: All patients with ERI were included in the study. We analyzed demographic characteristics, injury type and anatomical location of injury, Glasgow coma score, and body mass index (BMI). Patients were grouped by BMI: underweight (BMI<18.5 kg/m(2)), normal weight (BMI=18.5-24.9 kg/m(2)), overweight (BMI=25-29.9 kg/m(2)) and obese (BMI >= 30kg/m(2)).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Injury characteristics and BMI values of patients with ERI.

SAMPLE SIZE: 82 patients.

RESULTS: The mean age was 45.1 (15.5) years (range:14-77 years). Forty-two were women (52.5%). The mean BMI was 26.7 (2.2) kg/m(2)(range: 22.1-33.3 kg/m(2))]. Most of the patients who were injured due to escalators were older than 50 years (n=39, 47.6%) and 77.5% (n=62) of all patients were overweight. There was a significant relationship between increased BMI and serious ERI (P=.010, OR: 1.85, 95% C.I: 1.13-2.65). The most frequent mechanism of injuries was a fall (97.6%). The majority of injuries were the head (42%) and extremity injuries (33%). The major type of ERI was soft tissue injuries (41.3%), followed by lacerations (20.7%), closed head injuries (18.5%), fractures (15.2%) and serious injuries (4.4%). Serious injuries were more prevalent in patients aged older than 50 years (P<.05), and in overweight and obese individuals (P<.001)

CONCLUSION: Novel protective measures against ERI should be developed for crowded subway stations.

LIMITATIONS: The small sample size and retrospective nature.