Effective Factors in Severity of Traffic Accident-Related Traumas; an Epidemiologic Study Based on the Haddon Matrix

Traffic accidents are the 8(th) cause of mortality in different countries and are expected to rise to the 3(rd) rank by 2020. Based on the Haddon matrix numerous factors such as environment, host, and agent can affect the severity of traffic-related traumas. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the effective factors in severity of these traumas based on Haddon matrix.

In the present 1-month cross-sectional study, all the patients injured in traffic accidents, who were referred to the ED of Imam Khomeini and Golestan Hospitals, Ahvaz, Iran, during March 2013 were evaluated. Based on the Haddon matrix, effective factors in accident occurrence were defined in 3 groups of host, agent, and environment. Demographic data of the patients and data regarding Haddon risk factors were extracted and analyzed using SPSS version 20.

700 injured people with the mean age of 29.66 ± 12.64 years (3-82) were evaluated (92.4% male). Trauma mechanism was car-pedestrian in 308 (44%) of the cases and car-motorcycle in 175 (25%). 610 (87.1%) cases were traffic accidents and 371 (53%) occurred in the time between 2 pm and 8 pm. Violation of speed limit was the most common violation with 570 (81.4%) cases, followed by violation of right-of-way in 57 (8.1%) patients. 59.9% of the severe and critical injuries had occurred on road accidents, while 61.3% of the injuries caused by traffic accidents were mild to moderate (p < 0.001). The most common mechanisms of trauma for critical injuries were rollover (72.5%), motorcycle-pedestrian (23.8%), and car-motorcycle (13.14%) accidents (p < 0.001).

Based on the results of the present study, the most important effective factors in severity of traffic accident-related traumas were age over 50, not using safety tools, and undertaking among host-related factors; insufficient environment safety, road accidents and time between 2 pm and 8 pm among environmental factors; and finally, rollover, car-pedestrian, and motorcycle-pedestrian accidents among the agent factors.