The Frequency of Road Accident Injuries among Victims Admitted to Shahid Beheshti Hospital of Babol, Iran in 2010-2012

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Road accidents are one of the major causes of mortality and severe injuries, which impose substantial financial and social costs on communities. This study was conducted to investigate the epidemiology of road traffic traumas to the upper and lower extremities. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, victims, admitted to Shahid Beheshti Hospital of Babol, Iran, were evaluated during 2010-2012. Demographic data, accident location, day, season and time of accident, as well as admission time were investigated. FINDINGS: In total, 1049 victims with the mean age of 32.93±16.56 years were included in this study. Overall, 830 (79.1%) and 219 (20%) victims were male and female, respectively. The majority of accidents occurred on inter-urban roads (n=830, 35%) on week days (n=839, 72.5%). The highest frequency of accidents was reported in summer (n=311, 29.6%) between 13:30 pm and 19:30 pm. The longest interval between the accident and hospital admission was 1-2 hours following the accident. CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that road accidents were more frequent in certain hours and seasons of the year. Therefore, recognition of local effective factors in accidents could be a proper guide for authorities to promote accurate and effective health planning