Mortality during road traffic accidents in Bangui, Central African Republic

The authors examined mortality during road traffic accidents (RTAs) to propose solutions for their prevention. This descriptive prospective study took place over a 12-month period (June 1, 2011, to May 30, 2012) and included all fatalities from RTAs brought to selected hospitals. These RTA fatalities were studied in the morgues and selected sites. An autopsy was conducted for each victim to clarify the cause of death. An injury severity score (ISS) was also calculated for each victim. The data were analyzed with Epi-Info 2008. The study included 1283 victims of RTAs, 217 of whom died, for a lethality rate of 16.9%. Among the deceased, 116 died before reaching the hospital, for a prehospital lethality rate of 53.5%. The 101 remaining victims died in hospital, 68 of them in the emergency department before admission. Head trauma accounted for the largest proportion of deaths (57.6%), followed by the polytrauma (25.7%). Passengers in cargo trucks (39.3%) and motorcyclists (13.9%) were the most exposed to fatal accidents. For an ISS > 25, the mortality rate was 41.7%, and for an ISS > 40, 100%. Based on the ISS, most of these deaths could have been avoided. The urgent establishment of a public transportation system, improvement of transportation of RTA victims to hospitals, and an effective healthcare system could reduce this high mortality rate.