Download PDF
CC BY-NC 4.0 · Arch Plast Surg 2019; 46(01): 63-68
DOI: 10.5999/aps.2018.00815
Original Article

Epidemiologic study of hand and upper extremity injuries by power tools

Yong Hun Kim 
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Wonju Severance Christian Hospital, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea
,
Jin-hee Choi 
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Wonju Severance Christian Hospital, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea
,
Yoon Kyu Chung 
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Wonju Severance Christian Hospital, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea
,
Sug Won Kim 
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Wonju Severance Christian Hospital, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea
,
Jiye Kim 
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Wonju Severance Christian Hospital, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea
› Author Affiliations
› Further Information
   Permissions and Reprints

Background Hand injuries caused by chain saws, electric saws, and hand grinders range from simple lacerations to tendon injuries, fractures, and even amputations. This study aimed to understand the distribution of various types of hand and upper extremity injuries caused by power tools, in order to help prevent them, by investigating the incidence and cause of power tool injuries treated over a 4-year period at a single institution in Korea.

Methods We reviewed the medical records of patients who visited a single institution for power tool-induced injuries from 2011 to 2014. The distribution of sex, age, injured body part, type of injury, and mechanism of injury sustained by patients who received hand and upper extremity injuries from using an engine saw, electric saw, or hand grinder was evaluated.

Results Among 594 subjects who were injured by power tools, 261 cases were hand and upper extremity injuries. The average age was 53.2 years. Tendon injury was the most common type of injury. An electric saw was the most common type of power tool used. More injuries occurred in non-occupational settings than in occupational settings.

Conclusions In this study, power tool-induced hand and upper extremity injuries were mostly caused by direct contact with electric saw blades. More injuries occurred due to non-occupational use of these tools, but the ratios of amputations and structural injuries were similar in the non-occupational and occupational groups.

Keywords

Hand injuries - Arm injuries - Amputation


Publication History

Received: 10 July 2018

Accepted: 23 October 2018

Article published online:
28 March 2022

© 2019. The Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, permitting unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)

Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc.
333 Seventh Avenue, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10001, USA

 

  • REFERENCES

  • 1 Gaul Jr JS. Identifiable costs and tangible benefits resulting from the treatment of acute injuries of the hand. J Hand Surg Am 1987; 12(5 Pt 2): 966-70
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 2 Burke FD, Dias JJ, Lunn PG. et al. Providing care for hand disorders: trauma and elective: the Derby Hand Unit experience (1989-1990). J Hand Surg Br 1991; 16: 13-8
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 3 Johns AM. Time off work after hand injury. Injury 1981; 12: 417-24
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 4 O’Sullivan ME, Colville J. The economic impact of hand injuries. J Hand Surg Br 1993; 18: 395-8
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 5 Oleske DM, Hahn JJ. Work-related injuries of the hand: data from an occupational injury/illness surveillance system. J Community Health 1992; 17: 205-19
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 6 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Work-related injury statistics query system (Work-RISQS) [Internet]. Atlanta, GA: CDC; [cited 2003 Nov 4]. Available from https://wwwn.cdc.gov/wisards/workrisqs
    Google Scholar
  • 7 Beaton AA, Williams L, Moseley LG. Handedness and hand injuries. J Hand Surg Br 1994; 19: 158-61
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 8 Angermann P, Lohmann M. Injuries to the hand and wrist: a study of 50,272 injuries. J Hand Surg Br 1993; 18: 642-4
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 9 Hung LK, Choi KY, Yip K. et al. Recent changes in the pattern of hand injuries in Hong Kong: a regional hospital survey. Hong Kong Med J 1997; 3: 141-8
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 10 Conn JM, Annest JL, Ryan GW. et al. Non-work-related finger amputations in the United States, 2001-2002. Ann Emerg Med 2005; 45: 630-5
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 11 Marcy N, Rutherford G, Mills A. Hazard screening report: power tools and workshop equipment [Internet]. Bethesda, MD U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission; 2003 [cited 2016 Mar 14]. Available from https://www.cpsc.gov/PageFiles/106093/2003h054.pdf
    Google Scholar
  • 12 Justis EJ. A hand surgeon looks at how accidents happen. Fine Woodworking 1982; 36: 84-7
    Google Scholar
  • 13 Shields BJ, Wilkins 3rd JR, Smith GA. Nonoccupational table saw-related injuries treated in US emergency departments, 1990-2007. J Trauma 2011; 71: 1902-7
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 14 Tan KK, Fishwick NG, Dickson WA. et al. Does training reduce the incidence of industrial hand injuries?. J Hand Surg Br 1991; 16: 323-6
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 15 Ong SG, Fung SC, Chow SP. et al. A study of major factors associated with severe occupational hand injury in Hong Kong island. J Soc Occup Med 1982; 32: 82-8
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 16 Absoud EM, Harrop SN. Hand injuries at work. J Hand Surg Br 1984; 9: 211-5
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 17 Frank M, Lange J, Napp M. et al. Accidental circular saw hand injuries: trauma mechanisms, injury patterns, and accident insurance. Forensic Sci Int 2010; 198: 74-8
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar