Study of Road Traffic Injuries Admitted in Rural Hospital

With the mans invention of the wheel the death knell has continued to toll for many, who are often innocent, but who may happen to be at the wrong place at wrong time. Objective To study the types and factors involved in occurrence of road traffic injuries. Methodology All road traffic injury cases admitted in KH& MRC, Karad during 1st June 2016 to 30th July 2016 were taken. It was a Hospital based cross sectional study. Pretested proforma was used for interviewing the study subjects. Results A total of 50 cases of road traffic injuries were reported. Majority of the cases were under the age group of 30-39years of age and males were more prone than females. Among the days, maximum occurrence was Tuesday and Thursday [10 (20 %)]. Considering each daytime clock we found that 46 RTI (92 %) took place during day time.50 % cases received hospitalization within one hour of the accident and 18 % got in half an hour. Place of accident was rural area in 52 % and 48 % in urban. Out of all road traffic accidents, maximum 36 (82 %) cases were by two wheelers, 4 (8 %) were of 4 wheelers followed by bicycle 3 (6 %). Among the injured 32 (64 %) were Drivers of these 23 (71.8 %) have license& 7 (21.8 %) do not have, 13 (26 %) were occupants& 5 (10 %) were Pedestrians. In type of Crash, Head on collision was seen in 20 (40 %) followed by side collision 13 (26 %). Accidents under the influence of Alcohol were 14 %. Requirement of blood transfusion was 50 % in the cases. Safety Measures were used in 5 % cases. Conclusion A significant number of road traffic injuries can be prevented and lot of lives can be saved if proper safety measures are used, alcohol use is avoided, traffic rules and laws are followed.