Frequency of admission in Intensive Care Unit due to road accident

During recent years, it has been noticed a remarkable increase in admission of the young in Intensive Care Unit due to road accident. The aim of the present study was to explore the injuries, the special conditions of admission of young 18-40 years old that were admitted to Intensive Care Unit due to road accident. Method and material: The sample studied consisted of young individuals 18-40 years old that were admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of public hospitals in the area of Attica for 3 years. Data were collected by the completion of a special designed questionnaire that apart from demographic variables, the record of injuries and the conditions of treatment it also included variables concerning the type of vehicle that caused the road accident as well as the outcome of patients' course. Data analysis was performed by the statistical package SPSS 13 and the method x2 and t-test. Results: The sample studied consisted of 555 young individuals, of the 13,1% of total admissions in ICU. Of the participants 82,2% were men and 17,8% women, with mean age 26,5 years. Regarding the frequency of various types of injuries, 24,7% of the participants had injuries of upper limbs and 26,4% of lower. 30,2% of the sample had more than 3 fractures, while the 6,9% more than 5. 75,7% of the participants had head injury. Moreover, it was found that the frequency of head injuries was statistical significant lower among those wearing helmet (64,5%) compared to those not wearing (82,5%), p<0,05. Intubation had the 17,9% of he sample, while in coma was the 11,6%. Finally, it was found that patients admitted in ICU from operation room (36,2%) were more likely with statistical significant more to die compared to those admitted by Emergency department (17,8%) by hospital of other town (16,7%) by other hospital (14,3%), or other clinic department (12,5%). Conclusions: Road accidents consist the main reason for admission of the young in ICU. The majority of individuals were multi-injured. Due to the increased incidence of admission, it is judged necessary the institution of ICU in every big hospital.

Keywords: Road accidents, risk factors, fractures, brain injury