Analysis of injury patterns and contributory factors among three-wheeler occupants admitted to Teaching Hospital Karapitiya following road traffic accidents

Introduction: Increasing morbidity and mortality following road traffic accidents (RTA) is a major health and economic burden in developing countries. Among the increased number of registered vehicles in Sri Lanka 15% are three-wheelers and they are responsible for 11% of the road fatalities in the year 2021 with high impact incidence. The objectives in this study were to determine different patterns, nature, and mechanisms of the injuries, contributory factors, safety measures, and crash characteristics among the occupants of three-wheelers who are admitted following road traffic accidents to a tertiary care hospital in Southern Sri Lanka.

 

Methodology: Data on socio-demographic profile, mechanisms of causation of injuries, affected region and severity of injuries, and contributory factors for the collision were retrieved from Medico-Legal Examination Forms of the patients admitted following three-wheeler accidents to the teaching hospital Karapitiya from 2019 to 2021. The data were analyzed using the SPSS IBM Version 22.

 

Results: Rear-seat passengers (64%) were mostly injured than drivers. A bi-fold pattern of prevalence was observed at the time of incidents. The commonest incident was impacts with moving vehicles (41%) and most injuries were sustained by impacts of objects inside the vehicle (48%). The commonest injury seen was abrasion (69%) and the majority were seen over upper limbs (51%). There was no significant difference in the injury pattern between drivers and rear passengers. (11%) of the three-wheel drivers in this study did not possess a driving license and (24%) of them were drunk at the time of the accidents.

 

Conclusion: High vehicular instability, lack of safety measures, reckless driving, and unnecessary vehicular modifications increase the number of three-wheel accidents. Replacing more crash-worthy four-wheel light vehicles and enforcement of legal limits are recommended.