A Retrospective Cohort Study of Traumatic Brain Injury and Usage of Protective Headgear During Equestrian Activities.
Donna S Lemoine, Bradley J Tate, Jennifer A Lacombe and 1 others
PMID 28692623WHAT IT FOUND
None of 28 patients with traumatic brain injury after animal riding were reported wearing protective headgear, and 3 helmeted riders in the larger injury group had no head injury.
This is a pattern, not proof that helmets prevented injury.
Key findings
01None of the 28 patients with traumatic brain injury were reported wearing protective headgear.
02Three patients in the larger animal-riding injury group wore protective headgear and did not sustain a head injury.
03A high incidence of traumatic brain injury was identified in female pediatric patients (n=11; 54.5%).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study used records from one Level II trauma facility, so it may not represent other trauma populations. The traumatic brain injury group was small, with 28 patients, and the study was not randomized. The paper reports descriptive registry findings, not a tested helmet intervention. One author has personal horse-related injury experience and promotes helmet use, which the authors identified as possible bias. Patients were included only if they met trauma activation criteria and had one of three traumatic brain injury diagnoses, so injuries outside that pathway may be missed.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that helmets prevented traumatic brain injury in these riders. The paper describes 28 patients with traumatic brain injury who had no reported helmet use and 3 helmeted patients in the larger animal-riding group, and it was not randomized.