Road traffic injuries in Rawalpindi city, Pakistan

U Farooq,J.A Razzak,N Malik,J.A Bhatti,M.M Khan,M Siddiq,M Majeed

doi:10.26719/2011.17.9.647

Abstract

Data on road traffic accident (RTA) injuries and their outcome are scarce in Pakistan. This study assessed patterns of RTA injuries reported in Rawalpindi city using standard surveillance methods. All RTA injury patients presenting to emergency departments of 3 tertiary care facilities from July 2007 to June 2008 were included. RTA injuries (n = 19 828) accounted for 31.7% of all injuries. Among children aged 0-14 years females suffered twice as many RTA injuries as males (21.3% versus 11.4%), whereas this trend reversed for the age group 15-24 years (41.9% versus 21.7%). One-fifth of injuries were either fractures or concussion. Severity and outcome of injuries were worse for the age group 45 years and older. For every road traffic death in Rawalpindi city, 29 more people were hospitalized and 177 more received emergency department care. These results suggest the need for better RTA injury surveillance to identify preventive and control measures for the increasingly high road disease burden in this city.

Highlights

Injuries due to road traffic accidents (RTAs) are a global public health problem [1] that disproportionately affects low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) which account for more than 90% of road fatalities [2]
The mean age of males presenting with RTA injuries was 26.1 [standard deviation (SD) 13.2] years whereas it was 29.2 (SD 17.4) years in females
In the age group 15–24 years, RTA injuries were twice as high in men (41.9%) compared with women (21.7%) and this was significantly different compared with other age groups (P < 0.001) (Figure 1)

Summary

Introduction

Injuries due to road traffic accidents (RTAs) are a global public health problem [1] that disproportionately affects low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) which account for more than 90% of road fatalities [2]. It is projected that road accident fatalities in EMR will increase by 68% from 1990 to 2020 [5]. In Pakistan, it is estimated that injuries generally, and RTA injuries in particular, may have led to increased loss of daily adjusted life years [9]. Official reports indicated that only 7000 RTA fatalities occur each year in Pakistan [6]. A recent report estimated 41 000 RTA fatalities occur each year in Pakistan, 24% of all estimated fatalities in EMR [4]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion