Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37285513›Full record

ArticleJournal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews2023

Injuries Sustained With Falls From Height in Crossing the United States-Mexico Border at a Level I Trauma Center: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Michael M Polmear, Tyler C Nicholson, James A Blair, Ahmed M Thabet, Adam H Adler, Rajiv Rajani

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
2.1field-weighted citation impact, top 14% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS: PASS HISTORY AND THE PASS PRESENT.Transactions of the American Clinical and Climatological Association · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Michael M PolmearFrom theDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso, El Paso, Texas (Dr. Polmear, Dr. Nicholson, Dr. Thabet, Dr. Adler, and Dr. Rajani); the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, GA (Dr. Blair).ORCID 0000-0002-6986-8436
Tyler C Nicholson
James A Blair
Ahmed M Thabet
Adam H Adler
Rajiv Rajani
Texas Tech University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThe US Department of Homeland Security has reported increases in encounters and apprehensions at the US Southwest border for the past several years. The purposes of this study were to assess the demographics, patterns of injuries, and surgical interventions, associated with falls from height along the US-Mexico border.

methodsA prospective cohort study was conducted at a Level I trauma center from January 2016 through December 2021 of all patients who fell from height crossing the US-Mexico border and presented with injuries requiring admission.

resultsA total of 448 patients were admitted with a median age of 30 years (interquartile range [IQR] 16, range 6 to 65). Monthly frequency of admissions increased markedly with a median of 18.5 (IQR 5.3) in 2021. Patients presented with limited health data, and comorbidities were identified in 111 patients (24.7%). Median height fallen was 5.5 m (18 ft). Patients sustaining a fall from ≥ 5.5 m were markedly more likely to have an Injury Severity Score (ISS) of > 15. Median length of stay was 9 days (IQR 11). There were a total of 1,066 injuries with 723 extremity and pelvic; 236 spine; and 107 head or neck, face, thorax, or abdominal injuries. Median ISS was 9.0 (IQR 7, range 1 to 75, 33% > 15). Tibial plafond fracture and spine injury were markedly associated with longer lengths of stay and ISS > 15. All injuries resulted in 635 separate surgical events and 930 procedures. Clinical follow-up occurred in 55 patients (12.2%), with median duration of 28 days (range 6 days to 8 months). DISCUSSION: Injuries associated with border crossings and falls from height were serious and increased in frequency. As the US policy on border security evolves, surgeons in these regions should be prepared to handle the associated injuries and sequelae. Prevention of these serious and debilitating injuries should be undertaken to decrease the burden of disease.

Indexed as

Spinal InjuriesTrauma CentersAccidental FallsAdultHumansMexicoProspective StudiesUnited States

Identifiers

PMID37285513
PMCPMC10249713
OpenAlexW4379741631

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.