RESUMO
A retrospective study was conducted to determine the morbidity and mortality among road traffic accident patients reported to Accident and Emergency Department, Khoula Hospital, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. Analysis of medical records done from January 1998 to December 1999 and review of 4669 road traffic accident patients revealed that most were males [64%], adults [84%] and nationals [79%]. This study shows that the majority of road traffic accidents occurred during weekends [46%] and those accidents were more frequent in the afternoon between 2pm to 10pm [45%]. Most common injuries seen were soft tissue injuries [40%] followed by head injuries [20%]. 12% of the total admissions in Khoula Hospital were accident victims. Out of the total road traffic accident victims, 48% got admitted to the hospital with the maximum admissions to the orthopedic ward [37%]. Mortality among those patients was 3.2% and most of patients who died were adults [83%], males [79%] and nationals [89%]. Major cause of death was head injury [67%]