Road traffic accident clinical pattern and management outcomes at JUMC Emergency Department; Ethiopia

ABSTRACT

Background: Road Traffic Accident is an incident on a way or street open to public traffic. It becomes one of the most significant public health problems in the world especially in developing countries. In Ethiopia, it represents a significant risk for morbidity and mortality. It is also the major public health problem even though studies done on this topic in the study area is limited. Objective: To assess clinical pattern, associated factors and management outcomes among road traffic accident Victims attending emergency department of Jimma University Medical Center. Methods: Hospital based cross sectional study design was employed to review patients' chart visited the hospital from March to April 2021. A systematic random sampling technique was applied. The data were collected using pretested checklist and analyzed using SPSS version 26. Descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression were computed. Variables with P<0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: About 49.6%) were pedestrians injured of which motorcycle accounted 42.9%. More than half of victims never got any type of prehospital care. On arrival, 38.7% were classified as Red of which 71.4% of them were managed surgically. About 84.9% of victims were discharged with improvement whereas12.6% were died. Victims with head injury (AOR= 16.61 95% CI; 3.85, 71.71), time elapsed to reach nearby health facility (AOR= 3.30; 95 CI (1.13, 9.60), condition of patient at Emergency Department (AOR= 7.78; 95% CI 2.33, 26.06), GCS at admission (AOR= 20.12; 95% CI 7.23, 55.96) and days spent in hospital (AOR= 6.85; 95% CI 5.81, 8.06) were independent predictors of unfavorable outcome. Conclusion: Road Traffic Accident represents a significant risk for morbidity and mortality in Ethiopia, of which head injury and multiple sites injury increase injury severity. Targeted approaches to improving care of the injured victims may improve outcomes. Thus, the clinician should take into consideration the clinical presentation and give due attention to the identified contributing factors in its management.