Pedestrian road traffic injuries in Abuja

Study design: Retrospective case study Objective: To examine the risk factors and anatomic region affected by road traffic injury to pedestrian seen at the A&E centre of the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital Gwagwalada, Abuja FCT. Background: Pedestrian injury has emerged as an epidemic and a public health concern in trauma centres in Nigeria but it has not been exhaustively documented especially in the North-Central Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Age, gender, marital status, occupation, anatomic region, cause of the injury to pedestrian and outcome from 1999- 2009 were retrospectively studied from the case notes. Results: There were 1364 cases of pedestrian injuries during the reviewed period with male (67.7%) predominance. The mean age was 26.4± 7.7 years with male to female ratio 2.1: 1. Motorcycle 932(68.3%) was the leading cause of pedestrian injuries. The lower extremity (38.1%) was the most frequently injured anatomic region. Mortality was 3.2% in pedestrian injuries in our A& E during the review period. Conclusion: In Gwagwalada, the motorcycle has emerged as a leading cause of morbidity and mortality to pedestrians, affecting predominantly young males. Pedestrian injuries are a major public health concern but preventable and such be approach as such. Key words: Pedestrian, motorcycle, road traffic injuries, trauma, Gwagwalada