Road Accidents, Polytrauma Patients, and Their Economic Burden

Abstract

Trauma is a problem of global public health with economic, social and political extensions. It is constantly growing due to road accidents. The cost of hospitalization and the loss of working hours for those who managed to reach the hospital are huge for the national economy of each country. The purpose of the present study is to record the polytrauma patients of road accidents and to search for their economic cost. A total of 68 injured people were the study sample during the period 2014-2017. The study was conducted in a University hospital in Athens (Greece). The mean age of the patients was 36.67 years. The mortality was 13.2% and the mean cost of every polytrauma patient was 14.272 Euros. Nearly half of them had an infection, which increased the cost. Accident prevention, proper and timely treatment of injuries, monitoring, recording and controlling infections and reducing the length of hospitalization are some of the ways to reduce the financial cost of a traumatized person.