Characteristics of injuries due to traffic accidents in the pediatric age group

BACKGROUND
In this study, the pediatric age group exposed to road traffic accidents was investigated, and patients with risk factors were studied to obtain relevant data.
METHODS
Trauma patients under the age of 15 who were admitted to the emergency department of this university over five years were analyzed retrospectively. Age, gender, accident time and type, personal injury area, type of injury, and clinical outcome were examined.
RESULTS
When the cases were analyzed with respect to the causes that led to the accidents, in-vehicle accidents formed the largest group (n=479, 59%). More than a quarter of all applications (34%) took place in summer months. Most of the applications were between 17: 00 and 17: 59 (n=94, 11.6%), followed by between 18: 00 and 18: 59 (n=88, 10.8%). The most commonly affected body parts were the head and neck region (n=226, 27.8%) and extremities (lower extremity: n=144, 17.7%; upper extremity: n=99, 12.2%). The most frequently seen injuries were contusions, abrasions, hematomas, and crush (n=443, 54.6%). The majority of patients who died were pedestrians who were hit by a motor vehicle (n=19, 59.4%).
CONCLUSION
In this study, it was observed that in the pediatric age group, traffic accidents involving a pedestrian and vehicle collision have greater fatality.

Pediyatrik yaþ grubunda trafik kazasý sonucu oluþan yaralanmalar ve özellikleri

AMAÇ
Bu çalýþmada, pediyatrik yaþ grubunda trafik kazasýna maruz kalan olgular araþtýrýldý ve risk etmenleri ile ilgili veriler elde edilmeye çalýþýldý.
GEREÇ VE YÖNTEM
Bir üniversite acil servisine beþ yýl süre ile baþvuran 15 yaþ ve altýndaki travma olgularý retrospektif olarak incelendi. Yaþ, cinsiyet, kazanýn oluþ zamaný, kazanýn oluþ þekli, yaralanma bölgesi, yaralanma tipi ve klinik gidiþ verileri araþtýrýldý.
BULGULAR
Çalýþma kriterlerine uyan 812 olgu olduðu belirlendi. Oluþ nedenlerine göre, araç içi trafik kazalarý en büyük grubu oluþturdu (n=479, %59). Yaz aylarýnda tüm baþvurularýn %34’ü (n=236) gerçekleþti. 17: 00-17: 59 (n=94, %11,6) ve 18: 00-18: 59 (n=88, %10,8) saatleri baþvurularýn en yogun olduðu zaman dilimleriydi. Baþ-boyun bölgesinin (n=226, %27,8) ve ekstremitelerin (alt ekstremite: n=144, %17,7; üst ekstremite: n=99, %12,2) en sýk etkilenen vücut bölgeleri olduðu ve olgularda kontüzyon, abrazyon, hematom ve crush tipi yaralanmalarýn daha sýk görüldüðü belirlendi (n=443, %54,6). Hayatýný kaybeden olgularýn büyük çoðunluðu, yayaya araç çarpmasý þeklinde gerçekleþen araç dýþý trafik kazasý olgularýydý (n=19, %59,4).
SONUÇ
Bu çalýþmada, araç dýþý trafik kazalarýnýn pediyatrik yaþ grubu için daha ölümcül olduðu ve bu kazalarýn sýklýkla yaya olarak araç ile çarpýþma sonrasý gerçekleþtiði gözlenmiþtir.