United Arab Emirates: Bicycle Injuries

During the period October 2001 and January 2003, Eid and his colleagues from the Trauma Group, Faulty of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, prospectively examined a series of 200 patients who were treated for bicycle related injuries at Al-Ain Hospital in the UAE.

Of the 200 patients, 175 were males, and most all were under 16 years old. Of the 200 patients, only 2 were wearing helmets. Although most injuries involved the lower limbs, over one-third (36%) were head and neck injuries, although many of the patients had both limb and head/neck injuries. Most of the injuries were caused by falls from the bicycle (about 82%), and 28% involved a bicycle-motor vehicle collision. Most of the injuries were not serious enough to require hospital admission – 31 patients (15.5%) require hospitalization. More than 60% (20/31) of the admissions were the result of bicycle-car collisions.

The authors observed that there was little alcohol involvement in the crashes primarily due to the age, low income levels, and religious beliefs among bicycle riders in the United Arab Emirates. They concluded that because of the high levels of head and neck injuries, helmet usage should be increased and that legislation and education promoting helmet use are needed.

Eid HO, Muhammed OQ, Abu-Zidan FM. Bicycle-related injuries: a prospective study of 200 patients. Singapore Med J 2007:48;884-6.

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