Epidemiological characteristics and relative factor of hospital death cases with road traffic trauma

Objective: To investigate the epidemiological characteristics and relative factor about hospital death in patients with road traffic trauma. Methods: The age, sex, road-use category, sites of injury, injury severity scale of 159 hospital death cases in 2436 cases with road traffic trauma were observed, and the relation between the causes of death and time elapsed after injury was also studied with likelihood ratio Chi-square test.

Objective: To investigate the epidemiological characteristics and relative factor about hospital death in patients with road traffic trauma. Methods: The age, sex, road-use category, sites of injury, injury severity scale of 159 hospital death cases in 2436 cases with road traffic trauma were observed, and the relation between the causes of death and time elapsed after injury was also studied with likelihood ratio Chi-square test. Results: More hospital deaths happen more likely in the elderly patients and peasants with road traffic trauma. Motor vehicle was the most common culprit, and the majority of victims were pedestrians. The causes of death were related with the time elapsed after injury, and according to which the clinical course of the wounded patients could be divided into cerebral injury/shock phase, transitional phase, infection phase and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) phase. Conclusion: There is a significant relation between the hospital deaths and types of the injury and medical care in road traffic accidents. It should be emphasized that strategy of prevention of hospital deaths during hospital care should vary in different phases of the clinical course.