naa a22 4500 510740898 CHVBK 20180411083027.0 cr unu---uuuuu 180411e20130901xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s11845-012-0899-1 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s11845-012-0899-1 The effect of inclement weather on ankle fracture management in an Irish trauma unit [Elektronische Daten] [B. O'Neill, E. Kelly, O. Breathnach, P. Keogh, P. Kenny, S. O'Flanagan] Introduction: Ireland is unfamiliar with extreme weather conditions. Such conditions occurred in winter 2009-2010 and 2010-2011, with much of the country being affected by snow and ice. We reviewed the effect that these conditions had on the treatment of ankle fractures in our trauma unit. Materials and methods: The study period was from November until February for four consecutive years from 2008-2009 until 2011-2012. We compared two winters with extreme weather with two winters with regular weather conditions. Information from Met Eireann was compared with demographics from patient records to differentiate ice-related injuries from non-ice-related injuries. Ankle fractures were classified using the Lauge-Hansen classification. We compared waiting times in A&E, waiting times for theatre, delays relating to injury severity, and overall length of stay for both groups. Results: We identified 44 ice-related injuries and 67 non-ice-related injuries. Ice-related injuries trended towards more severe fracture configurations using the Lauge-Hansen classification. Patients sustaining ankle injuries during inclement weather were significantly younger than patients sustaining injuries during regular weather conditions. There were no other significant differences between the two groups. Discussion: Ice-related injuries trended towards a greater severity of fracture configuration. We identified no significant increase in the time to treatment or overall length of stay of patients sustaining ankle fractures during these times. Ice-related injuries did not have greater rates of complications. These results are a testament to the trauma staff in this unit who absorbed the increased workload without compromising patient care. Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland, 2013 Irish nationallicence Weather nationallicence Trauma nationallicence Ankle nationallicence O'Neill B. Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, Ireland aut Kelly E. Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, Ireland aut Breathnach O. Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, Ireland aut Keogh P. Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, Ireland aut Kenny P. Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, Ireland aut O'Flanagan S. Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, Ireland aut Irish Journal of Medical Science Springer-Verlag 182/3(2013-09-01), 397-401 0021-1265 182:3<397 2013 182 11845 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-012-0899-1 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-012-0899-1 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- O'Neill B. Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, Ireland aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Kelly E. Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, Ireland aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Breathnach O. Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, Ireland aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Keogh P. Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, Ireland aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Kenny P. Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, Ireland aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- O'Flanagan S. Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, Ireland aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Irish Journal of Medical Science Springer-Verlag 182/3(2013-09-01), 397-401 0021-1265 182:3<397 2013 182 11845 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer