Abstract
Introduction On-call orthopedic clinicians have long speculated that daily consult volume is closely correlated with weather. While prior studies have demonstrated a relationship between weather and certain fracture types, the effect of weather on total orthopaedic consult volume has not yet been examined. The aim of this study was to investigate this relationship. Methods We retrospectively reviewed orthopaedic consult data from 405 consecutive days at an urban, level one trauma center. The number, mechanism of injury, and type of consult were collected, along with daily weather data (temperature, wind, and precipitation). Statistical analysis was then performed to determine the relationship between weather and orthopaedic trauma consults. Results A total of 4543 consults were received during the study period. There was a significant difference in total number of consults between months of the year (p<0.001). A post hoc analysis revealed that this was due to increased volume in the summer months relative to the winter months (i.e., August 13.7 consults/day; January 9.3 consults/day). Average daily temperature and consult volume were also positively correlated (p<0.001, r= 0.30). While there was no significant association between precipitation and total consult volume, when there was over 0.25 inches of rain, there were less penetrating trauma (p=0.034) and motorcycle collision consults (p=0.013). Conclusion Weather parameters, specifically average temperature and precipitation, were found to be associated with daily orthopedic consult type and volume. Additionally, consult volume varies significantly between months of the year. Because trauma centers are often resource scarce, this is an important relationship to understand for proper resource allocation.
Highlights
On-call orthopedic clinicians have long speculated that daily consult volume is closely correlated with weather
Because ground level falls are a common mechanism of injury, multiple studies have demonstrated a higher incidence of hip fractures in the winter months [16, 21, 24, 26]
Only one study has examined the effect of weather metrics on orthopedic consult volume and this was in a pediatric population [15]; no similar study exists in adults
Summary
On-call orthopedic clinicians have long speculated that daily consult volume is closely correlated with weather. Average temperature and precipitation, were found to be associated with daily orthopedic consult type and volume. Clinicians have long speculated that daily trauma volume is closely correlated with the weather, and to many familiar with the care of the traumatically injured this seems anecdotally obvious. Orthopedic injuries have received attention in this regard, as a number of studies have examined the relationship between weather and fracture-specific patterns—most notably hip, forearm, and distal radius fractures [14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24]. Only one study has examined the effect of weather metrics on orthopedic consult volume and this was in a pediatric population [15]; no similar study exists in adults
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