From Dehydration to Fractures: Medical Issues Faced by People Crossing the United States: Mexico Border

Koleski, Jerome; Aldulaimi, Sommer; Morán, Elizabeth

doi:10.1007/s10903-018-0827-1

Cited by 13 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Prior work by Burk and Palacio showed that in El Paso and the Rio Grande Valley, Texas, the injuries experienced by individuals crossing the US–Mexico border were among mostly men and predominantly involved the spine and lower extremity (Burk et al 2017 ; Palacio et al 2021 ). Consistent with this work, Koleski et al have shown that musculoskeletal injuries are the primary reason for medical attention following crossing the US–Mexico border (Koleski et al 2019 ); and in San Diego, the number of patients treated for injuries while crossing the border continue to increase, with the most recent increase in border wall height associated with higher numbers of deaths, injury severity scores, and burden of complex injured patients (Kelada et al 2010 ; Liepert et al 2022 ).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Musculoskeletal injuries sustained at the California, USA: Baja California, Mexico border

2022

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Background Individuals attempting to enter the USA from Mexico at non-authorized points along the border fence often sustain injuries requiring medical intervention. We evaluated characteristics of this patient population and their hospital care to better understand patient treatment needs. Given the high-velocity nature of these injuries, we hypothesized that higher pain scores would be associated with longer lengths of hospital stay. Methods In this cross-sectional study, we selected records of all patients from 2013 to 2019 who received care by the Orthopaedic Surgery department following an injury sustained at the California-Baja California border. We evaluated demographics, musculoskeletal injuries, procedures, length of hospital stay (LOS), follow-up, and pain scores via retrospective chart review. We used linear regression, adjusting for age and gender, to evaluate associations between pain scores and hospital LOS. Results Among all 168 patients, there were 248 total injuries comprised of 46% lower extremity, 15% upper extremity, 17% spine, and 4% pelvic injuries. Average age at injury was 33 ± 10, 74% were male, and 85% identified as Hispanic. Of this patient population, 68% underwent operative interventions, 26% sustained open injuries, and 21% required external fixation for initial injury stabilization. Thirteen percent were seen for follow-up after discharge. Spine (n = 42), pilon (n = 36), and calcaneus fractures (n = 25) were the three most common injury types. Average LOS for all patients was 7.8 ± 8.1 days. Pain scores were not significantly associated with LOS ( p = 0.08). However, for every surgical procedure performed, hospital LOS was increased by 5.16 ± 0.47 days (p < 0.001). Conclusion Many injuries incurred by patients crossing the border were severe, requiring multiple surgical interventions and a prolonged LOS. The higher number of procedures was significantly associated with longer LOS in all operatively treated patients. Future studies are needed to determine how we can optimize care for this unique patient population and facilitate post-discharge care.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Musculoskeletal injuries sustained at the California, USA: Baja California, Mexico border

2022

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“…A health crisis has already developed along the United States-Mexico border with immigrants primarily from Central America. [59][60][61][62] Now their packed transport and living conditions increase F I G U R E 4 Precipitation outlook for the Caribbean March-April-May 2020. Precipitation will mildly increase in the insular portion of the Caribbean North-West and the eastern Guianas.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Weathering the pandemic: How the Caribbean Basin can use viral and environmental patterns to predict, prepare, and respond to COVID‐19

Solá

Wang

Vázquez

et al. 2020

Journal of Medical Virology

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The 2020 coronavirus pandemic is developing at different paces throughout the world. Some areas, like the Caribbean Basin, have yet to see the virus strike at full force. When it does, there is reasonable evidence to suggest the consequent COVID-19 outbreaks will overwhelm healthcare systems and economies. This is particularly concerning in the Caribbean as pandemics can have disproportionately higher mortality impacts on lower and middle-income countries. Preliminary observations from our team and others suggest that temperature and climatological factors could influence the spread of this novel coronavirus, making spatiotemporal predictions of its infectiousness possible. This review studies geographic and timebased distribution of known respiratory viruses in the Caribbean Basin in an attempt to foresee how the pandemic will develop in this region. This review is meant to aid in planning short-and long-term interventions to manage outbreaks at the international, national, and subnational levels in the region. K E Y W O R D S coronavirus, pandemic, seasonal incidence Not all seasonal respiratory viruses experience the same spatiotemporal patterns. Nevertheless, assuming seasonality, the only way of predicting SARS-CoV-2 behavior in a given region is to extrapolate data from known pathogens. Most such studies are based on 2 | DE ÁNGEL SOLÁ ET AL.

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“…A study of trends in the San Diego, California, area of the border from 2000 to 2007 (Kelada et al, 2010) limited inclusion to patients who had sustained their injury "in an attempt to cross the border on foot by scaling the fence." Another study, which was focused on medical issues near the border proximate to Tucson, Arizona, reported that the second most common problem was dehydration or heat-related issues (Koleski et al, 2019). There has been no similar study in the Rio Grande Valley, where the relative share of apprehensions has rapidly grown to approach 50% of all apprehensions in the past decade.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are two ACS verified Level II trauma centers located in the Rio Grande Valley region, and the nearest Level I trauma center is over 300 km away. Previous literature related to this topic have come from urban Level I trauma centers that are academic institutions in California, Arizona, and West Texas (Kelada et al, 2010;Koleski et al, 2019;Ramey et al, 2019;Mclean & Tyroch, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The mechanism and pattern of injuries of undocumented immigrants crossing the Texas-Mexico border along the Rio Grande Valley

Palacio¹,

Cruz²,

Vanier

et al. 2021

Inj. Epidemiol.

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Background Apprehensions of undocumented immigrants in the Rio Grande Valley sector of the U.S.-Mexico border have grown to account for nearly half of all apprehensions at the border. The purpose of this study is to report the prevalence, mechanism, and pattern of traumatic injuries sustained by undocumented immigrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border at the Rio Grande Valley sector over a span of 5 years and were treated at a local American College of Surgeons verified Level II trauma center. Methods A retrospective chart review was conducted from January 2014 to December 2019. Demographics, comorbidities, injury severity score (ISS), mechanism of injury, anatomical part of the body affected, hospital and ICU length of stay (LOS), and treatment costs were analyzed. Descriptive statistics for demographics, injury location and cause, and temporal trends are reported. The impact of ISS or surgical intervention on hospital LOS was analyzed using an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Results Of 178 patients, 65.2% were male with an average age of 31 (range 0–67) years old and few comorbidities (88.8%) or social risk factors (86%). Patients most commonly sustained injuries secondary to a border fence-related incident (33.7%), fleeing (22.5%), or motor vehicle accident (16.9%). There were no clear temporal trends in the total number of patients injured, or in causes of injury, between 2014 and 2019. The majority of patients (60.7%) sustained extremity injuries, followed by spine injuries (20.2%). Border fence-related incidents and fleeing increased risk of extremity injuries (Odds ratio (OR) > 3; p < 0.005), whereas motor vehicle accidents increased risk of head and chest injuries (OR > 4; p < 0.004). Extremity injuries increased the odds (OR: 9.4, p < 0.001) that surgery would be required. Surgical intervention was common (64%), and the median LOS of patients who underwent surgery was 3 days more than those who did not (p < 0.001). Conclusion In addition to border fence related injuries, undocumented immigrants also sustained injuries while fleeing and in motor vehicle accidents, among others. Extremity injuries, which were more likely with border fence-related incidents, were the most common type. This type of injury often requires surgical intervention and, therefore, a longer hospital stay for severe injuries.

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From Dehydration to Fractures: Medical Issues Faced by People Crossing the United States: Mexico Border

Cited by 13 publications

References 3 publications

Musculoskeletal injuries sustained at the California, USA: Baja California, Mexico border

Musculoskeletal injuries sustained at the California, USA: Baja California, Mexico border

Weathering the pandemic: How the Caribbean Basin can use viral and environmental patterns to predict, prepare, and respond to COVID‐19

The mechanism and pattern of injuries of undocumented immigrants crossing the Texas-Mexico border along the Rio Grande Valley

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