Title: Injuries in traffic, 1998-2004, according to patient statistics
Abstract: It has been known for a long time that many traffic accidents are not known to the police, but are dealt with by the health service. Because of this, the official statistics concerning persons injured in traffic, which are based on accidents known to the police, are misleading. In this study, data from the in-patient records of the Swedish Board of Health and Welfare concerning treatment episodes terminated during the period 1998-2004 were therefore examined. In this way it is possible to give an augmented account of the of in-patient injuries in road traffic accidents, and the development in the of accidents to pedestrians in a street/road environment, without the involvement of vehicles, can also be observed. On average, more than 12,000 persons annually were hospitalised in 1998-2004 as a result of road traffic accidents. The average is slightly higher in the years after the turn of the century. Breakdown by age among injuries in road traffic accidents has been fairly stable. The injury index number of in-patient injuries per thousand population has shown a tendency to increase slightly during the period. The 15-24 age group consistently has a higher injury index than other ages. Among the injuries, the proportions of motorists and motoryclists/moped riders have increased. Motorists account for 44 per cent of in-patient injuries in both 2003 and 2004, motorcyclists/moped riders for over 18 per cent. On comparing these statistics with the official statistics concerning persons severely injured in road traffic accidents, it is found that the of injured cyclists according to in-patient data is 6-10 times higher. For all road users, the of injuries according to in-patient data is about three times higher than the of severe injuries according to police reports. Pedestrians have the longest average treatment periods; this applies to almost all age classes. The principal diagnosis made at the time of initial hospitalisation is given in this report. Fractures account for more than one third of injuries and for almost one half of the treatment period. For the seven-year period 1998-2004, the report also shows an average of about 2,200 in-patient injuries annually caused by pedestrians falling in a street/road environment without the involvement of a vehicle. The most common cause is fall in the same plane due to slipping/tripping/stumbling in the absence of ice/snow. In this group, those 65 or older account for over 82 per cent of the treatment period.
Publication Year: 2007
Publication Date: 2007-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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