Soccer-related injuries utilization of U.S. emergency departments for concussions, intracranial injuries, and other-injuries in a national representative probability sample: Nationwide Emergency Department Sample, 2010 to 2013

Soccer participation in the United States (U.S.) has increased over time, and injuries as well as interest to prevent injuries has become more common. This study described Emergency Department (ED) visits related to concussions, intracranial injuries (ICI), and all-other injuries attributed to soccer play; described healthcare cost and length of hospital stay of soccer-related injuries; and determined independent predictors of concussions, ICI, and all-other soccer injuries leading to ED visits. The study examined soccer-related weighted discharge data from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Weighted tabular analysis of univariate and bivariate analyses and weighted and adjusted logistic regression models were conducted. A total of 480,580 of U.S. ED visits related to soccer injuries were available for analysis between 2010 to 2013. Generally, 98% of soccer-related ED visits resulted in routine (treat-and-release) visits. However, the odds of transfer to a short-term hospital following ED evaluation and treatment was more than 37-fold higher for soccer-injured youth and adults diagnosed with ICI when compared to all-other soccer injuries; additionally, these patients showed 28-fold higher odds of being admitted for inpatient care at the ED-affiliated hospital. For concussion, soccer-injured patients with concussion showed nearly 1.5-fold higher odds of being transferred to a short-term hospital than did those with any other soccer injury. Soccer-related ED visits cost more than 700 million in U.S. dollars from 2010 to 2013. Notable differences were noted between concussions, ICI, and all-other soccer injuries presenting to U.S. ED. Albeit underestimated given that this study excludes other forms of health care and treatment for injuries, such as outpatient clinics, over the counter medications and treatment, and rehabilitation, healthcare cost associated with soccer-related injuries presenting to ED is high, and remarkably costly in those with an ICI diagnosis.