All-Terrain Vehicle Injuries in Texas, Mapping the Path to Intervention with a Geographic Information System

The state of Texas was ranked 10th for all-terrain vehicle-related deaths among all states from 2007-2009. Health Service Region 4/5N of eastern Texas has a statistically significant higher rate of all-terrain vehicle-related injuries in children under the age of 18 than Texas as a whole (p < 0.001.) It is unknown why east Texas has a higher all-terrain vehicle-related injury rate. A retrospective analysis of the registry of the Texas Trauma Service Area G, which serves the east Texas area, from the years 2004-2010 was performed. Variations within the region were assessed using a geographic information system and the analysis demonstrated that the highest rates of all-terrain vehicle-related injuries in east Texas are found in two neighboring rural eastern counties. Recording mechanism of injury was an important adjunct to identifying all-terrain vehicle-related injuries. Using E-codes alone underestimated the actual injuries. Other findings demonstrated that children under age 16 had a high rate of injury, one third of those injured sustained a head injury, and helmet use was very low.