Road Traffic Accident Admissions in the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that casualty and fatality rates in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and in other Gulf countries are much higher than in the developing and developed countries with comparable vehicle ownership levels.1-3 The discovery of oil about the middle of the century has changed many aspects of life in the UAE. There has been a dramatic rise in the national economy, expressed convincingly in terms of income per capita. Road construction programs have increased, parallel to other national developments, and with an increase in road traffic accidents (RTA) and casualties reaching serious public health proportions. 2The factors causing road traffic accidents and resulting casualties may be viewed in the light of those causing injury, which makes them suitable for the epidemiological approach. The problem has long been the focus of attention in developed countries and the fatality rates are generally improving there, but relatively little has been achieved in reducing the magnitude of the problem in developing countries. 4 Most researchers agree that it is not appropriate to attempt to isolate a single main cause of an accident. Earlier RTA studies demonstrated that about 90% of all accidents could be attributed to road user characteristics. Hence, road user behavior is often examined for compliance with existing traffic rules and regulations. 3 WHO statistics indicate that one million people die and between 15 and 20 million are injured annually in road traffic accidents.5 RTAs are the second major cause of deaths in the UAE. 4 The death rate from RTA in the Arab Gulf countries 1-4,6-9 is reported to be much higher than that in the USA. 6 Although there have been previous reports on the subject of RTA in the UAE, 2-4,7-8 none have dealt with admissions of the injured patients to the hospitals. All types of data are valuable in the planning of preventive measures from such accidents, as well as the management of the injured. In this paper we analyzed all RTA admissions to the major teaching hospital of the UAE University for a one-year period. Materials and MethodsThis study was conducted over the twelve months of 1995. Those traffic accident victims who did not survive the accident, and those who did not survive the initial management in the emergency department, as well as those who were treated on outpatient basis, were excluded from this study. The current study was confined to inpatient admissions which followed RTA. Data gathered included age, sex, the time of injury, the nature of injury, the region of the body injured, and the severity of injury, graded according to the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS).10 Also recorded were whether the injured was the driver or the occupant of the vehicle, or a pedestrian, whether the occupant of the vehicle was wearing a seat belt or not at the time of the injury, whether one or two vehicles were involved in the collision or objects or pedestrians, the time interval between the accident and the arrival at the hospital, the length of stay in the hospital and the...

Survey of 2582 Cases of Acute Orthopedic Trauma

“…The World Health Organization (WHO) considered trauma an important issue that merits more attention ( 2 ). Injuries caused by traffic accidents in developing and developed countries are social problems that result in wasting of human and financial resources ( 3 ). Approximately five million people die annually (570 individuals per hour) in accidents that can be prevented ( 4 ).…”