Farming Related Trauma Injuries in Southern West Virginia With a Focus on Risks, Injury Trends, and Associated Co-morbidities

Background The implementation of safety policies in farming-related injuries in West Virginia has been lacking. Farming-related injuries have resulted in massive injuries that have resulted in life long injuries and death. Therefore, this study aims to review 12 years of our level 1 trauma data and describe the incidence rate and patterns of priority-related farming injuries in West Virginia, as well as the specific co-morbidities and related injuries that might be more susceptible to damage. Methods We examined 82 cases of farm-related injuries that required trauma-priority related intervention from 2005 -2016. We harvested data from the Charleston Area Medical Center Trauma registry to investigate associated injuries. We defined farm equipment as any mechanical or automated tool used on a farm for related farm upkeep or farm-related activity. Multinomial logistic regression was used to understand the overall impact on the differing effects of years of injuries. Results The total number of farming-related injury cases was 82. The most statistically suggestive finding was those that had a positive narcotics urine test at (p= 0.062) (-.3230-12.82). Those with a history of CHF (congestive heart failure) also had a significant statistical relationship at (p=0.001) (-5.477-1.394). Alcohol use disorder was also a significant statistical relationship (p=0.012) (-5.127--.6728). The most common injuries were concussions at 18 % ( 15/82) followed by rib fractures at 17 % ( 14/82). Conclusion Farming-related injuries appear to have increased risks on specific body and organ systems, as described in our initial data analysis. Specific co-morbidities also have been documented to show a higher risk of injury and would need further investigation. Specific years show a higher prevalence of farming injuries compared to other years. Further research is needed to explore these underlying findings.