Epidemiological Study of Fatal Head Injury in Road Traffic Accident Cases: A Study from BPKIHS, Dharan

Abstract

Setting: Study was performed in mortuary of B P Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS), Dharan. Objectives: 1. To know the various epidemiological factors related to road traffic accident cases. 2. To know the relationship of head injury in road traffic accidents with the factors like helmet use, type of vehicle involved in accident. Study design: longitudinal descriptive study. Study unit: 77 Dead bodies with fatal head injury from RTA coming to BPKIHS mortuary, a focal point in eastern Nepal Study variables: Demographic characteristics of the victims, time, day and month of accidents, type of accidents, vehicle involved in accidents etc. Statistical analysis: Proportion. Results: There were approximately 78% male and 22% female road traffic accident victims with head injury. Students were the highest (20.7%) among the victims. The highest number of accidents took place in the month of June (11.7%) and on Saturdays (24.6%). The pedestrians were the largest (45%) group of the victims. Among the motorized vehicles, two wheeler drivers were more (34%) victims in accidents. Out of 77 fatalities, 22% were found to have consumed alcohol. Conclusion: Due to bad and mismanaged roads and poor road traffic knowledge to the citizens, road traffic accidents are the most common cause of unnatural deaths in this region. Minimal use of helmet is the main cause of fatal head injury in two wheeler occupants.

Factors and Pattern of Injuries Associated with Road Traffic Accidents in Hilly District of Nepal

“…But in contrast, one of the study from India illustrated that majority of RTA cases were graduates followed by intermediate education [24]. Our findings revealed RTAs occurred higher in public holiday and previous study from India highlighted similar findings [17]. It could be the higher proportion of the people's movement for marketing and outing on holiday.…”

“…The frequently vulnerable groups of RTAs are pedestrians [16], motorcyclists, bicyclists, scooter riders, children and elderly people. The most of the accidents are unnatural and easily preventable [15], in which vehicle condition and environmental factors are accountable to the RTAs [17].…”

Profile of Medico-legal Injury Cases in a Tertiary Care Hospital in North India

“…Male preponderance with 6.4:1 was also expected and is in line with worldwide trends [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] .This trend of male to female ratio depends on the role of females in society.…”

An epidemiological study of road traffic accident cases admitted in a tertiary care hospital

“…5 pme8.59 pm was the peak hour reflected in another study conducted in Mangalore. 15 In another study conducted by Jha in Pondicherry, 16 the peak time observed was between 4e5 pm and 6e7 pm. The slight difference in timings as compared to our study can be due to difference in work culture (and hence peak hours) of the two cities.…”