[Road traffic injuries in Catalonia (Spain): an approach using the minimum data set for acute-care hospitals and...

To verify the usefulness of the minimum data set (MDS) for acute-care hospitals and emergency resources for the study of road traffic injuries and to describe the use of health resources in Catalonia (Spain).

The study population consisted of patients treated in any kind of emergency service and patients admitted for acute hospitalization in Catalonia in 2013. A descriptive analysis was performed by age, gender, time and clinical variables.

A total of 48,150 patients were treated in hospital emergency departments, 6,210 were attended in primary care, and 4,912 were admitted to hospital. There was a higher proportion of men (56.2%), mainly aged between 20 and 40 years. Men accounted for 54.9% of patients with minor injuries and 75.1% of those with severe injuries. Contusions are the most common injury (30.2%), followed by sprains (28.7%). Fractures mostly affected persons older than 64 years, internal injuries particularly affected men older than 64 years, and wounds mainly affected persons younger than 18 years and older than 64 years. In the adult population, the severity of the injuries increased with age, leading to longer length of stay and greater complexity. Hospital mortality was 0.2%. Fractures, internal injuries and wounds were more frequent in the group of very serious injuries, and sprains and contusions in the group of minor injuries.

MDS records (acute hospitals and emergency resources) provide information that is complementary to other sources of information on traffic accidents, increasing the completeness of the data.