An Epidemiological Study on Road Traffic Accidents at a Tertiary Care Hospital of Eastern India

Introduction: Accidents and injuries are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality. According to the World Health Organization, 1.35 million deaths occurred due to road traffic accident (RTA) globally in every year. In India, fatality rate of road accidents is twenty times higher than developed countries. Objectives: The objective of this study is to assess the epidemiological factors responsible for RTA and to know the pattern of accidents. Materials and Methods: A hospital-based, cross-sectional study was conducted among RTA victims admitted at a tertiary care hospital of Odisha from August to November 2019. The data were collected by using predesigned and pretested interview schedule and analyzed with the help of SPSS 20. Results: Out of 147 accident victims, 81% were male; mean age was 36.6 ± 13.67 years. Maximum accidents (43.5%) had taken place between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Bike-riders (81.6%) were the major victim involved in accidents followed by pedestrian (9.5%) and cyclist (8.9%). Among bike riders, 44.16% did not wear helmet during accident and 3.33% did not have a valid driving license. About 25.2% were due to alcohol intake. Unusual behavior of animals and defective road contributed around 10.2% and 16.90%, respectively. Among injuries, the most common was laceration (38.1%) followed by abrasion (22.4%). Fracture was found in 7.5% cases. Most common sites involved were head, face, upper limb, and lower limb. Conclusion: Public awareness should be initiated regarding various factors associated with RTA and measures to prevent accidents.