Profile of persons with vehicular related trauma presenting at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital Emergency Centre

Vehicular Related Trauma (VRT) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Worldwide, an estimated 1.2 million people die yearly from VRT whilst about 50 million people sustain non-fatal injuries. WHO predicts Road Traffic Accident as the third leading cause of death worldwide by 2020. Ghana has been experiencing an increasing number of VRT which imposes a high clinical and economic burden. In the year 2010 out of 16,904 casualties 1986 were killed in Ghana (National Road Safety Commission). This study was conducted to assess the morbidity and mortality resulting from VRT, the severity of presentation and the injury types. Methods: The study was cross-sectional. Patients fulfilling inclusion criteria at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) Emergency Centre (EC) were recruited on admission. Written informed consent was obtained. Patients were triaged using the five-tier South Africa Triage system. Data were collected over a six-week period between July and August 2011. Results: Out of the total sample of 1004, approximately 41% had some form of injury; of these almost half (49.6%) had injuries from Vehicular Related Trauma. A further look at VRT cases indicated that the principal presentations were caused by car crash (41.6%), pedestrian injuries (25.8%), and motorcycle related injuries (19.6%). Mini buses and bicycles accounted for 9.8% and 2.2%, respectively. 6.8% of the patients were triaged to “red”, 33.4% to “orange”, and 59.3% to “yellow”. Thirty-four and a half percent of the patients presented with lower extremity injuries and fractures, followed by head injuries (26.1%). Mortality rate (24 h mortality) at the Emergency department during the period in respect with trauma is as follows: 15.78% for “red”, 1.27% for “orange” and none at “yellow”. None of the patients involved in bicycle accidents wore a helmet and only 5.3% of those riding motorcycles wore a crash helmet. Discussion: This study confirms that injuries resulting from Vehicular Related Trauma contribute a significant cause of all injuries presenting at the KATH EC and therefore could have a significant economic burden on Ghana. Policy makers should make road safety a priority and implement cost effective measures to improve it