Road traffic injuries in Nepal during COVID-19 lockdown

Sedain, Bhagabati; Pant, Puspa Raj

doi:10.12688/f1000research.26281.2

Cited by 5 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…20 Another unique finding from our study was a 50% increase in motorcycle collisions in male patients during the initial wave. Although no such findings have been demonstrated so far in the literature, 21,22 this trend was consistent with data from our area. 23,24 A report from the Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research demonstrated that fatal motorcycle accidents in New York State increased more than 30% in 2020 compared to 2019 despite a decrease in road traffic.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Trauma Service Utilization at a New York City Level I Trauma Center

Rosen¹,

Pelle²,

Lakhi³

2022

POR

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Background:The COVID-19 pandemic globally impacted trauma facilities and overall healthcare utilization. This study was conducted to characterize the utilization of trauma services at our Level I Trauma Center in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the preceding pre-pandemic year. Methods: A retrospective study of patient presenting to our Level 1 Trauma Center in Staten Island, New York. The pre-pandemic data was extracted from March 1st, 2019-February 29th, 2020. The pandemic year was divided into two phases: the initial wave (March 1st-Sept 1st, 2020) and the protracted phase (September 1st, 2020-March 1st, 2021. Patients were identified using ICD-10 coding and data regarding patient factors, mechanism of injury, and service utilization was extracted from the medical record. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS v.24. Results: A total of 1650 trauma activations registered during the pre-pandemic phase, 691 during the initial wave, and 826 during the protracted phase. Compared to pre-pandemic, the number of Level 1 trauma activations remained unchanged, however mechanisms of injury shifted. Gunshot wounds (2.6% vs 1.2%), motorcycle crash (4.2% vs 2.0%) and blunt force injury caused by an object (strike injuries) (2.7% vs 1.3%) significantly increased during the initial wave (p-value <0.05). There was a significant decrease in the percentage of both female (2.93% vs 2.33% vs 5.64%, p-value <0.01) and pediatric (3.30% vs 3.64% vs 12.9%, p-value <0.001) assault activations during the initial wave and protracted phase when compared to pre-pandemic levels, respectively. No significant changes were observed for self-harm, falls, accidents, burns, sports injuries, stab wounds, autobody collisions, or motor vehicle accident activations. Conclusion: Trauma centers should be prepared for increases in violent trauma. We also emphasize the need to implement strategies to raise public awareness of pediatric and female assault in the domestic setting, particularly during a mandatory stay-at-home policy where underreporting may occur.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Trauma Service Utilization at a New York City Level I Trauma Center

Rosen¹,

Pelle²,

Lakhi³

2022

POR

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“…Excessive speed, which is anticipated to increase the incidence and severity of RTCs [ 12 ], has occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 20 , 56 – 61 ]. This was attributed to the significant reduction in traffic volumes and empty roads [ 42 , 44 , 58 , 59 , 62 , 63 ] which encouraged high speeding [ 20 , 42 , 47 , 56 , 57 , 60 , 64 ], and resulted in more RTCs despite the few numbers of vehicles [ 56 , 60 ]. Furthermore, traffic speed enforcement was less [ 20 , 44 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, the speed-related vehicle collisions decreased in Minnesota (USA) and the Czech Republic despite reduced traffic volumes during lockdown [ 23 , 44 ]. In Nepal, 25% of the RTCs were attributed to speeding during the pandemic [ 57 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This reduction varies considerably by country and the type and function of roadways [ 56 ]. It was 67% in Spain [ 11 ], 26% in Canada [ 101 ], 84% in UAE [ 102 ], 48% in Nepal [ 57 ], 30–60% in Turkey [ 99 , 103 ], 11 to 58% in USA [ 23 , 56 , 59 , 72 , 104 ], 29 to 53% in Northern Ireland [ 51 , 105 ], 74% in France, 28% in Czech Republic, and 23% in Germany [ 44 ] during lockdowns.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is because the decline in traffic may increase risky driving behaviors such as over-speeding with increased severity of injury despite the decrease in the incidence of RTCs [ 43 , 56 , 59 , 75 , 81 ]. The strict lockdown during the pandemic reduced the number of RTCs deaths globally [ 43 , 44 , 57 , 99 , 109 – 111 ] (Table 1 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Global impact of COVID-19 pandemic on road traffic collisions

2021

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Background Various strategies to reduce the spread of COVID-19 including lockdown and stay-at-home order are expected to reduce road traffic characteristics and consequently road traffic collisions (RTCs). We aimed to review the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the incidence, patterns, and severity of the injury, management, and outcomes of RTCs and give recommendations on improving road safety during this pandemic. Methods We conducted a narrative review on the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on RTCs published in English language using PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar with no date restriction. Google search engine and websites were also used to retrieve relevant published literature, including discussion papers, reports, and media news. Papers were critically read and data were summarized and combined. Results Traffic volume dropped sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic which was associated with significant drop in RTCs globally and a reduction of road deaths in 32 out of 36 countries in April 2020 compared with April 2019, with a decrease of 50% or more in 12 countries, 25 to 49% in 14 countries, and by less than 25% in six countries. Similarly, there was a decrease in annual road death in 33 out of 42 countries in 2020 compared with 2019, with a reduction of 25% or more in 5 countries, 15–24% in 13 countries, and by less than 15% in 15 countries. In contrast, the opposite occurred in four and nine countries during the periods, respectively. There was also a drop in the number of admitted patients in trauma centers related to RTCs during both periods. This has been attributed to an increase in speeding, emptier traffic lanes, reduced law enforcement, not wearing seat belts, and alcohol and drug abuse. Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic has generally reduced the overall absolute numbers of RTCs, and their deaths and injuries despite the relative increase of severity of injury and death. The most important factors that affected the RTCs are decreased mobility with empty lines, reduced crowding, and increased speeding. Our findings serve as a baseline for injury prevention in the current and future pandemics.

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Trends in the number of patients from traffic accidents and the state of emergency

Igarashi

Mizobuchi

Nakae

et al. 2022

Acute Medicine & Surgery

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Aim During the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, the number of traffic accidents and injured patients was reported to be lower than that before the pandemic. However, little is known regarding the relationship between periods of the state of emergency and the number of patients who met with traffic accidents. Methods The numbers of trauma patients and deaths due to traffic accidents in Tokyo and Osaka were collected monthly from the statistics published by the police department. A state of emergency was declared four times in both cities. The number of trauma patients and deaths was compared between the emergency and other periods. Results The number of monthly patients per 100,000 due to traffic accidents during the state of emergency was significantly lower than that during other periods in Tokyo (16.56 versus 18.20; P = 0.008) and Osaka (24.12 versus 28.79; P = 0.002). However, the monthly number of deaths during the state of emergency was not significantly different compared with those during the other periods in Tokyo (0.08 versus 0.08; P = 0.65) and Osaka (0.10 versus 0.14; P = 0.082). A decrease in the number of trauma patients was observed before the emergency period; however, the reduction rate dropped as the period passed. Conclusion There were significantly fewer trauma patients due to traffic accidents during the state of emergency than during the other periods, with no significant difference in the number of deaths.

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Road traffic injuries in Nepal during COVID-19 lockdown

Cited by 5 publications

References 12 publications

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Trauma Service Utilization at a New York City Level I Trauma Center

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Trauma Service Utilization at a New York City Level I Trauma Center

Global impact of COVID-19 pandemic on road traffic collisions

Trends in the number of patients from traffic accidents and the state of emergency

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