The outcome of road traffic injuries

الملخص EN

Objective : to study some aspects of road traffic accidents, and preventive measures to decrease the burden of this problem.

Methods : A total of 476 medical records related to Road Traffic Accidents patients received and treated in the emergency department at Queen Alia Military Hospital during 2003 were reviewed.

Patients were divided into seven age groups : Below 15, 15-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64 and above 65 years.

They were also divided into : Ivers, pedestrians and unknown.

Developed trauma was classified as : abdominal, head, chest, skeletal and multiple.

Proposed initial causes of road traffic accidents were : high speed, close distance between vehicles, mechanical and environmental causes ; seat belt use was also investigated.

Age, gender, type of accident, and type of developed trauma were retrieved and analyzed.

Results : A total of 3 5 6 patients were males and 120 were females with a ratio of 3 : 1.

Almost 60 % (289 patients) were below 44 years, while 45 % of them were below 24 years.

The majority of victims (69 %) were passengers, but pedestrians accounted for a considerable percentage (8 %) of which (35 %) were children.

Two hundred and forty-nine patients (53 %) developed multiple injuries, 113 patients (24 %) skeletal injuries, 40 patients (9 %) isolated abdominal injuries, 52 patients (10 %) chest injuries and 22 (4 %) developed head injuries, while 16 patients (3 %) arrived dead or died in the hospital.

None of passengers or drivers was wearing seat belt.

More than 65 % of accidents were reported to be resulted from speeding and almost one third (31 %) of drivers were driving without a safe distance between vehicles.

Conclusion : road traffic accidents represent a major cause of morbidity and mortality, especially among reproductive male adults and children .We recommend that strict law, introducing seat belt, tough penalties and educational programs should be applied to minimize the impact of this frightening problem.