[Marked injury decline among pedestrians 1987-1994]

A retrospective case study from The Swedish Hospital Discharge Register was performed. There were 8,684 pedestrians in collision with motor vehicles, a total of 12,036 episodes, treated in Swedish hospitals from 1987-1994. Fifty three percent were men and 47% women, having a median age of 47 (range 1-100) years. In average, 17.6 persons were admitted/100,000 population/year. The annual incidence of injured pedestrians in Sweden decreased significantly during this period. Injuries to the extremities were commonest (39% fractures), followed by injuries to the head and neck (34%). The total number of deaths in our series of patients was 444 (5%). Among these, more than half had head, 1/5 orthopaedic, 1/20 abdominal or thoracic injuries. Among pedestrians hit by motor vehicles injuries to the extremities were commonest, followed by injuries to the head and neck. The usual victim was an old person. Five percent of the patients treated in hospital died.