Journal of the Dow University of Health Sciences (Apr 2013)
Pattern and Severity of Bony Injuries among Motorcyclist Admitted in Orthopedic Ward
Abstract
Objective: To observe the nature and severity of injuries to extremities among motorcyclists resulting from traffic accidents admitted in Orthopedic ward. Method: This study has been conducted in civil hospital Karachi between the time periods of Jan2011 tillDec2011.The patients included in this study were admitted from Accident and emergency department and fromoutpatient clinics, these patients were referred from other part of the province. All motor bike accident victimswith bony injuries were included in this study. After evaluation and emergency management, data of patientswas collected and statistical analysis was done through SPSS 10. Results: During this period a total 1280 patients had been admitted in orthopedic unit II, among which340(26.56%) patients were motorbike accident victims. These 340 patients had a total of 380 bone related injurieswhich was due to the fact that more than one bone was fractured in 25 of these patients. It was seen that amajority of the victims were male (310 out of 340--91.17%) whereas female victims were a minority (30 outof 340 –8.82%). Among these patients. It was seen that 205 were between the age group of 16 to 35 years andthe most common cause of injury was collision with another vehicle, this was seen in 215 cases (63.23%). Fractures TIBIA was seen in 165 patients and tibia the most common was the open fracture, the femur was the second most common fractured bone in motorbike accident victims. Conclusion: Motorbike riders are known to be more vulnerable to road accidents and due to the severity of the lower limb injuries they remain bedridden for longer periods of time, this unfortunately also becomes a socioeconomic problem. These injuries can be prevented by putting into effect laws that enforce road safety measures.
