Regional-Specific Patterns of Abdominal Injury in Belted Male and Female Frontal Crash Occupants: Insights from Redefined Anatomical Mapping

The study examined abdominal injuries of 87 belted occupants in CIREN frontal crashes for sex-based differences in abdominal injury patterns. It introduced a more anatomically detailed method for identifying injury locations in an abdominal-pelvic region that includes skeletal structures. The study introduces and applies a novel Abdominal New Injury Severity Score (AbNISS) to address limitations of traditional AIS coding in capturing sex-based differences in injury patterns. The operative reports/EDR/imaging data in CIREN cases enabled identification of sex-specific crash outcomes. The dominant analytical motif is Betrand Russel’s knowledge by acquaintance and definite descriptions.

Females had a higher rate of moderate to severe abdominal injuries than males: Only females sustained AIS 5 injuries, lumbar Chance fractures, posterior pelvic arch injuries, and more AIS 2, 3, and 4 injuries, with more injuries in superior-mid, left-superior, and medial-mid-abdominal zones. Males had more in the medial-inferior zone. 13 females had muscle ruptures. Four had combined muscle and Morel–Lavallée injuries, and four had Morel–Lavallée injuries alone. 13 of 14 males had muscle ruptures only. Pelvic morphology: Statistically significant (p < 0.05) sex-based difference in pelvic aspect ratios: Females: 1.37 ± 0.053, with the male ratio of 1.28 ± 0.079. By incorporating anatomical precision and enhanced injury mapping, it supports the development of more representative ATD/human body models.

Limitations of the study include its retrospective design, possible inconsistencies in clinical documentation, and challenges in applying AbNISS coding to non-CIREN datasets due to specificity constraints.