Abstract
Introduction:About 10,000 escalator-related injuries per year result in emergency department treatment in the United States. Since the 1990s, a steady increase has been reported, but few statistics on escalator-related injuries have been published worldwide. We have therefore analyzed escalator accident statistics in admissions to our hospital in Switzerland since 2000.Methods:Using retrospective electronic patient chart analysis, we included in our study patients >16 years treated over an 11-year period. We categorized patients in terms of gender, age and associated risk factors, and classified accidents according to day, time, location and cause. Resulting trauma was categorized according to type and location. We divided post-admission treatment into surgical and conservative, and into treatment as an outpatient, in a short-stay unit, or as a hospital admission. Women and men were compared using Fisher’s exact test.Results:We identified 173 patients with 285 discrete injuries. Of these, 87 patients (50%) were women. Fifty-three (61%) of the women and 38 (44%) of the men were >60 years old (P = 0.033). Fifty percent of the men (43/86) of the men, but only 7% (6/87) of the women showed signs of alcohol intoxication (P < 0.0001). Accidents in women occurred predominantly on Tuesdays (19/87; 22%) between 12pm and 6pm (35/87; 40%), and in men on Saturdays (16/86; 19%) between 6pm and 12am (29/86; 34%; P = 0.0097). Sixty-two percent (44/71) of the accidents were in public transport facilities and 30% (21/71) in shopping centers. The majority of injuries in women were to the lower extremities (49/87; 56%), while most accidents in men were to the head and neck (51/86; 59%; P = 0.0052). About half (90; 52%) of the patients were treated conservatively. Almost half of all patients (76, 44%) required hospital admission. Of those, 45% left the hospital within 24 hours of admission (short stay unit) and 55% stayed longer than 24 hours.Conclusion:Escalator accidents can result in severe trauma. Significant gender differences in escalator accidents have been observed. Alcohol intoxication and age are significant risk factors in escalator-related accidents and might be possible targets for preventive measures.
Highlights
About 10,000 escalator-related injuries per year result in emergency department treatment in the United States
45% left the hospital within 24 hours of admission and 55% stayed longer than 24 hours
As 50% of men in our study showed signs of alcohol intoxication and 36% of all male patients suffered from head/neck injuries under alcohol influence, we consider that our peak on Saturdays is consistent with the following studies: Puljula et al[26] reported that alcohol-related head trauma in men occurred predominantly on Saturdays.[27]
Summary
About 10,000 escalator-related injuries per year result in emergency department treatment in the United States. Since the 1990s, a steady increase has been reported, but few statistics on escalator-related injuries have been published worldwide. We have analyzed escalator accident statistics in admissions to our hospital in Switzerland since 2000. The device, was destined to serve as a serious means of transport.[1,2] Remarkably, wood was the key element in the construction of early escalator steps until metal took over in the 1920s, when the first escalator was installed in Germany.[2,3,4] About 30 years later, in 1958, a Volume XIV, no. Riding the Escalator department store in Basle was home to the first escalator in Switzerland.[5]. Petersburg’s underground stations, comprising a length of around 142 meters at a height of 71 meters each.[6]
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