EVALUATION OF PATIENTS UNDER 18 YEARS ADMITTED TO EMERGENCY SERVICE AFTER BEING INVOLVED IN A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT BETWEEN 2016 AND 2018

Abstract

To reveal the descriptive characteristics of traffic accidents experienced by individuals under 18 years and evaluate the results. This cross-sectional epidemiological study was conducted in the First Aid and Emergency Clinic of Necmettin Erbakan University Meram Medical Faculty. After obtaining ethical approval and written permission from the university, data were collected between July and October 2019. For the research, a data collection form consisting of 22 questions was developed by the researchers. This form was retrospectively completed by screening the patient files from the hospital system. The study included the data from a total of 946 pediatric patients (62.6% male) presenting to our emergency clinic after a traffic accident between 2016 and 2018. The median age was 9.61 years. Of the accidents, 50.7% (n=480) had occurred inside a vehicle. Of the patients, 39.8% were hospitalized, and consultation was requested for 49.4% (n=467). The median age and length of hospitalization of the boys were found to be higher than those of the girls (p<0.001 and p=0.004, respectively). In addition, mortality was found to be higher among the patients who had been involved in traffic accidents inside a vehicle than those involved in a traffic accident outside a vehicle (x²=7.071, p=0.009). In road traffic accidents, controls should be tightened and parents’ awareness should be increased to avoid children being involved in road traffic accidents.