title: Pattern of emergency room mortality among road traffic crash victims.
abstract: Road traffic injuries are a major cause of death in the emergency room. The goal of this study was to highlight the demographic pattern of road traffic-related deaths in the accident and emergency room of a regional trauma centre. This was a 5-year retrospective study in which road traffic-related cases of emergency room mortality between June 2009 and June 2014 were reviewed. A total of 33 road traffic crash-related deaths occurred during this period with a male-to-female ratio of 2.3:1. Most of these patients were pedestrians with severe injuries involving two or more Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) coded regions. The mean time between injury and presentation in the first trauma facility was 112.1 (±55.4)min, and between presentation in the emergency room and death was 410 (±645)min. Mangled lower extremity, bilateral long bone lower limb fractures, pelvic injuries, blunt injuries to the chest and abdomen, and cranial fossae fractures were the common injury pattern. Median ISS and NISS in these patients were 22 (interquartile range [IQR]=11) and 25 (IQR=17), respectively. Severe injuries, delayed presentation, multiple referrals and delayed resuscitative measures contribute to road traffic crash-related mortality.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic and Trauma National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos, Nigeria. Electronic address: ladibabalola@yahoo.co.uk.
authors.forename: Oladimeji Ranti
authors.initials: OR
authors.lastname: Babalola
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, Ekiti State University, Ekiti State, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Kehinde
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oluwadiya
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University Hospital "Sveti Duh", Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Goran
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vrgoč
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic and Trauma National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Ugochukwu
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Akpati
authors.affiliation: Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Joško
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sindik
authors.affiliation: Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Miran
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Čoklo
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University Hospital Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia.
authors.forename: Marin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marinović
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, General Hospital Karlovac, Karlovac, Croatia.
authors.forename: Bore
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bakota
mesh_terms: D015998:Abbreviated Injury Scale; D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000401:mortality* / Q000517:prevention & control; D017677:Age Distribution; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D017052:Hospital Mortality / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012151:Resuscitation / Q000401:mortality*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013997:Time Factors; D014193:Trauma Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000401:mortality*
keywords: Emergency room; Mortality; Road traffic crash; Victim