Pedestrians injured in
automobile accidents constitute one of the most frequent serious problems in management for
emergency room surgeons. The
incidence of deaths in
pedestrians is significantly higher than in other road users. This study attempted to analyse the pattern of
injuries sustained by 129
pedestrians in road
traffic accidents. It was found that the
pedestrians were the commonest group of victims involved in fatal road
accidents comprising 28.7% of all cases. 83.7% cases were
males. There were two peaks of
incidence in relation to age; one at childhood (20.9%) and the other in
elderly (19.37%).
Cars and heavy vehicles were the commonest offending agents comprising 41.9% and 31.8% respectively. The
pedestrians themselves were at
fault in 43.4% cases.
Head injury was seen in 80% cases; followed by
lower limb fractures (42.6%), and
chest injury (38.8%). The
cause of death was
head injury in 56.6% cases followed by thoraco-
abdominal injuries in 8.5% cases and
multiple injuries in 7.8% cases.