Association between the Initial Anatomical Severity and Opportunity of Return to Work in Occupational Hand Injured Patients
Resource
JOURNAL OF TRAUMA-INJURY INFECTION AND CRITICAL CARE v.69 n.6 pp.E88-E93
Journal
Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery
Pages
E88-E93
Date Issued
2010
Date
2010
Author(s)
CHANG, JER-HAO
SHIEH, SHYH-JOU
LEE, YAO-CHOU
KUO, LI-CHIEH
LEE, YUNG-LING
Abstract
Background: The severity of the injury is the most important factor to return to work (RTW) when it comes to hand injuries. The purpose of our study is to examine the relationship between the initial anatomic severity , evaluated by the Hand Injury Severity Scoring (HISS) system, and probability of RTW in occupational hand injured patients. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, 140 patients hospitalized for surgery due to occupational hand injuries between 2004 and 2008 were recruited. Participants were interviewed for occupational history and RTW status. The probability of RTW was compared with the initial HISS scores by multiple logistic regression models. Results: In workers' compensation group, there was a significant relationship between HISS severity and the probability of RTW. Compensated patients with moderate injuries (odds ratio [OR] = 0. 15; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.03-0.70) and severe injuries (OR = 0. 13; 95% CI, 0.02-0.75) were significantly less likely to RTW than those with minor injuries, and those with major injuries were the least likely to RTW (OR = 0.07; 95% CI, 0.01-0.36). However, no association was found between HISS severity and the probability of RTW for patients without workers' compensation. With regard to the HISS components, patients with motor or neural component deficits had a significantly lower opportunity of RTW, with the neural deficits being the most influential. Conclusion: HISS is a useful instrument to predict the opportunity of RTW while restricted to the compensated patients. We also verified that the relationship between HISS severity and the probability of RTW existed for groups but not for individual patients.
Subjects
Return to work
HISS
Occupational hand injury
Epidemiology
SDGs
Other Subjects
adult; article; cohort analysis; disease association; female; hand injury; hospitalization; human; injury scale; injury severity; interview; major clinical study; male; occupational accident; priority journal; retrospective study; work resumption; workman compensation; Accidents, Occupational; Adolescent; Adult; Disability Evaluation; Employment; Female; Hand Injuries; Humans; Injury Severity Score; Interviews as Topic; Logistic Models; Male; Middle Aged; Recovery of Function; Retrospective Studies