Praxis Medica (Jan 2022)

Analysis of the characteristics of traffic trauma

  • Kasalović Mladen,
  • Jakovljević Aleksandar,
  • Miljković Nikola,
  • Igrutinović Gojko,
  • Milentijević Milica,
  • Milenković Aleksandra

DOI
https://doi.org/10.5937/pramed2204019K
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 51, no. 3-4
pp. 19 – 22

Abstract

Read online

Introduction: It is estimated that an average of 1,308 people die in traffic accidents in the world every day. Traffic accidents are caused by factors of the road, vehicles and the human factor, which occur alone or in combination with other factors in over 90% of cases. Material and methods: The retrospective systematic research included all cases of traffic trauma that were brought to the admission surgical outpatient clinic in the Clinical Hospital Center Kosovska Mitrovica in the period from January 2020 to December 2022. Results: In the observed period, 126 patients were registered. The age of the respondents differs statistically according to gender (p=0.030), and the highest frequency is male (81.8%) in the working population (18-59 years). The age of the subjects showed no statistical association with the types of injuries in traffic trauma (p=0.151). Friday and Saturday are the days with the highest risk (25.3% of injuries), and Sunday is the day with the least number of injuries (3.6%). The lowest number of injuries was recorded from January to May (n=12, 9.5%), and the highest was in the period August to October (n=54, 42.9%). A male patient, 20 years old, an alcoholic, required urgent surgical treatment (splenectomy) due to abdominal injuries. Alcoholism and the age of the subjects did not show statistical significance (p=0.495), and 24.6% of patients had a diagnosis of alcoholism. The age of the subjects showed a statistical association with hospitalization (p=0.004), male gender and age between 18-59 years. Only 2 patients required transport to a highly specialized facility. The fatal outcome showed a statistically significant correlation with the age of the respondent (p=0.016), there was only one patient (between 12-18 hours), a female, 85 years old as a passenger of a motor vehicle. Conclusion: The results of our study indicate a statistically significantly more frequent injury and hospitalization of male patients, that Friday and Saturday are the days of greatest risk and that the fatal outcome occurs in extremely elderly patients. Our findings favour the need to raise public awareness through the media, public actions and forums.

Keywords