A survey of rural road fatalities.
This study is a retrospective case series analysis of all 82 road deaths occurring in the Orana Area Health Service (OAHS) over the 2 year period 1989-90. The OAHS services a population of 112,800 in an area of 199,077 km2 in north-west New South Wales. The aim of the study was to document timing, place and cause of deaths, severity of injuries, pre-hospital management of victims, and a TRISS analysis of outcome. This was done using ambulance, hospital, police and autopsy reports. Seventy-two (88%) of the victims were motor vehicle occupants, five (6%) were motorcyclists and four (5%) were pedestrians. The median ambulance response time to the scene of the accident was 17 min (range 2-103 min). All deaths occurred within 24 h of injury with 65 (79%) of the victims being dead at the scene, nine (11%) dying en-route and eight (10%) reaching hospital alive. A TRISS analysis was performed on 51 deaths and 8% (4/51) of these had a greater than 50% probability of survival. Of the victims that had inevitable deaths according to TRISS, 11% (5/47) may have survived if pre-hospital care arrived sooner. Reduction in the rural road toll is achievable through preventative measures and strategies to improve access to care and administration of pre-hospital care.
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia.
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DG
Papadimitriou
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MN
Mathur
D A
DA
Hill
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000401:mortality* / Q000517:prevention & control; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000552:Ambulances / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002423:Cause of Death; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006780:Hospitals, Rural / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009517:New South Wales / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate; D013995:Time; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality*