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Haboob Dust Storms and Motor Vehicle Collision-related Trauma in Phoenix, Arizona

BACKGROUND: The Sonoran Desert region, encompassing most of southern Arizona, has an extreme climate that is famous for dust storms known as haboobs. These storms lead to decreased visibility and potentially hazardous driving conditions. In this study we evaluate the relationship between haboob even...

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Autores principales: Henry, Michael B, Mozer, Michael, Rogich, Jerome J, Farrell, Kyle, Sachs, Jonathan W, Selzer, Jordan, Chikani, Vatsal, Bradley, Gail, Comp, Geoff
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California, Irvine School of Medicine 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10393452/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37527375
http://dx.doi.org/10.5811/westjem.59381
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author Henry, Michael B
Mozer, Michael
Rogich, Jerome J
Farrell, Kyle
Sachs, Jonathan W
Selzer, Jordan
Chikani, Vatsal
Bradley, Gail
Comp, Geoff
author_facet Henry, Michael B
Mozer, Michael
Rogich, Jerome J
Farrell, Kyle
Sachs, Jonathan W
Selzer, Jordan
Chikani, Vatsal
Bradley, Gail
Comp, Geoff
author_sort Henry, Michael B
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: The Sonoran Desert region, encompassing most of southern Arizona, has an extreme climate that is famous for dust storms known as haboobs. These storms lead to decreased visibility and potentially hazardous driving conditions. In this study we evaluate the relationship between haboob events and emergency department (ED) visits due to motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) in Phoenix, Arizona. METHODS: This study is a retrospective analysis of MVC-related trauma presentations to Phoenix, AZ, hospitals before and following haboob dust storms. These events were identified from 2009–2017 primarily using Phoenix International Airport weather data. De-identified trauma data were obtained from the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) Arizona State Trauma Registry (ASTR) from seven trauma centers within a 10-mile radius of the airport. We compared MVC-related trauma using six- and 24-hour windows before and following the onset of haboob events. RESULTS: There were 31,133 MVC-related trauma encounters included from 2009–2017 and 111 haboob events meeting meteorological criteria during that period. There was a 17% decrease in MVC-related ED encounters in the six hours following haboob onset compared to before onset (235 vs 283, P = 0.04), with proportionally more injuries among males (P < 0.001) and higher mortality (P = 0.02). There was no difference in frequency of presentations (P = 0.82), demographics, or outcomes among the 24-hour pre-and post-haboob groups. CONCLUSION: Haboob dust storms in Phoenix, Arizona, are associated with a decrease in MVC-related injuries during the six-hour period following storm onset, likely indicating the success of public safety messaging efforts. Males made up a higher proportion of those injured during the storms, suggesting a target for future interventions. Future public-targeted weather-safety initiatives should be accompanied more closely by monitoring and evaluation efforts to assess for effectiveness.
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spelling pubmed-103934522023-08-02 Haboob Dust Storms and Motor Vehicle Collision-related Trauma in Phoenix, Arizona Henry, Michael B Mozer, Michael Rogich, Jerome J Farrell, Kyle Sachs, Jonathan W Selzer, Jordan Chikani, Vatsal Bradley, Gail Comp, Geoff West J Emerg Med Trauma BACKGROUND: The Sonoran Desert region, encompassing most of southern Arizona, has an extreme climate that is famous for dust storms known as haboobs. These storms lead to decreased visibility and potentially hazardous driving conditions. In this study we evaluate the relationship between haboob events and emergency department (ED) visits due to motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) in Phoenix, Arizona. METHODS: This study is a retrospective analysis of MVC-related trauma presentations to Phoenix, AZ, hospitals before and following haboob dust storms. These events were identified from 2009–2017 primarily using Phoenix International Airport weather data. De-identified trauma data were obtained from the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) Arizona State Trauma Registry (ASTR) from seven trauma centers within a 10-mile radius of the airport. We compared MVC-related trauma using six- and 24-hour windows before and following the onset of haboob events. RESULTS: There were 31,133 MVC-related trauma encounters included from 2009–2017 and 111 haboob events meeting meteorological criteria during that period. There was a 17% decrease in MVC-related ED encounters in the six hours following haboob onset compared to before onset (235 vs 283, P = 0.04), with proportionally more injuries among males (P < 0.001) and higher mortality (P = 0.02). There was no difference in frequency of presentations (P = 0.82), demographics, or outcomes among the 24-hour pre-and post-haboob groups. CONCLUSION: Haboob dust storms in Phoenix, Arizona, are associated with a decrease in MVC-related injuries during the six-hour period following storm onset, likely indicating the success of public safety messaging efforts. Males made up a higher proportion of those injured during the storms, suggesting a target for future interventions. Future public-targeted weather-safety initiatives should be accompanied more closely by monitoring and evaluation efforts to assess for effectiveness. Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California, Irvine School of Medicine 2023-07 2023-07-17 /pmc/articles/PMC10393452/ /pubmed/37527375 http://dx.doi.org/10.5811/westjem.59381 Text en © 2023 Henry et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) License. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
spellingShingle Trauma
Henry, Michael B
Mozer, Michael
Rogich, Jerome J
Farrell, Kyle
Sachs, Jonathan W
Selzer, Jordan
Chikani, Vatsal
Bradley, Gail
Comp, Geoff
Haboob Dust Storms and Motor Vehicle Collision-related Trauma in Phoenix, Arizona
title Haboob Dust Storms and Motor Vehicle Collision-related Trauma in Phoenix, Arizona
title_full Haboob Dust Storms and Motor Vehicle Collision-related Trauma in Phoenix, Arizona
title_fullStr Haboob Dust Storms and Motor Vehicle Collision-related Trauma in Phoenix, Arizona
title_full_unstemmed Haboob Dust Storms and Motor Vehicle Collision-related Trauma in Phoenix, Arizona
title_short Haboob Dust Storms and Motor Vehicle Collision-related Trauma in Phoenix, Arizona
title_sort haboob dust storms and motor vehicle collision-related trauma in phoenix, arizona
topic Trauma
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10393452/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37527375
http://dx.doi.org/10.5811/westjem.59381
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