Kumaran R.1, Yogaraj S.2
BACKGROUND
Road traffic accidents (RTA) account for most of the injury patients encountered
in the department of emergency resulting in significant death and morbidity. The
current research was conducted to analyse the demographic, clinical and
radiological profile of patients presenting with RTA to a tertiary care teaching
hospital (Velammal Medical College Hospital and Research Institute).
METHODS
This cross-sectional observational study was done among 68 subjects presenting
with RTA to the department of emergency medicine. Detailed history taking,
clinical & radiological investigations including plain radiographs, ultrasound and
computed tomography (CT) were done. Site of injury was considered as primary
outcome of the study. The data was analysed statistically by deriving mean and
standard deviation. International Business Machines Statistical Package for the
Social Sciences (IBM SPSS) version 22 was used for statistical analysis.
RESULTS
Among the study population, the mean age was 36.18 ± 13.73 years. 83.82 %
were males. Individuals aged less than 40 years of age were greatly involved in
RTA. Majority (77.9 %) had abdominal injuries followed by 36.7 % with
craniofacial trauma, 25 % had thoracic trauma, 17.6 % had spinal trauma, and
10.2 % had extremity and pelvic bone injuries. In abdominal trauma, spleen (26.4
%) was the commonly affected organ. Liver (25 %) and renal injuries (16.17 %)
were next commonly observed. A significant difference (P-value < 0.05) was found
in abdominal injuries due to different types of vehicles.
CONCLUSIONS
RTIs are common in the younger population. The predominance of the male
population was seen. The most common organ to be injured was spleen. Proper
understanding of the pattern of trauma may help in improving the outcome. Early
diagnosis, aggressive resuscitation and timely surgical intervention were essential
in improving the outcome in trauma patients.
