Factors affecting morbidity and mortality from road traffic accidents: a Nigerian peri-urban study

Road traffic census was taken along major roads linking Ilorin, Nigeria, with the north, east, south and north-west at different times on three randomly selected days per month during 16 months of 1982 and 1983. Road physical characteristics thought to affect safe and free traffic flow were also documented along the same roads. Trauma patients at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital were prospectively studied between 1983 and 1984. Of 715 road traffic accident (RTA) victims 78.6% were males, 48% suffered multiple injuries while 43.7% were managed non-operatively. Seventy-nine patients (11.0%) died. Of 10 variables analysed, outcome was significantly affected by non-operative management (P < 0.01) while patients' primary admission versus referral status was of borderline significance (P = 0.05). In addition to these indices of trauma severity, high truck-trailer traffic and high frequency of narrow bridges, bends and vehicle wrecks per kilometer of road were associated with high RTA rates.