Injury Patterns among Motorcyclist Trauma Patients: A Cross Sectional Study on 4200 Patients

Background: Motorcyclists are among the most vulnerable groups of road accident victims, who are prone to a growing mortality rate due to the constant rise in the number of accidents. This study was performed to investigate the injury patterns among motorcyclist trauma patients admitted to Kamyab Hospital, the largest trauma center affiliated with Mashhad Univercity of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran, due to an accident. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on motorcyclists referred to our hospital due to accidents from August 23, 2014 to August 22, 2016 to receive treatment. After the accurate examination of the collected data and correction of the potential errors, they were subjected to analysis. The gathered data included the demographic variables, injury pattern, accident time, and accident type. Data analysis was performed in Stata Software, version 12. Results: A total of 4,205 motorcycle accident cases were hospitalized (14% of all cases were hospitalized during the two-year study period). The mean age of the patients was 30 years, and 88% of them were male (a male to female ratio of 7.3). Car- and pedestrian-motorcycle collisions were the most common causes of injury that accounted for 68% and 22% of the cases, respectively. The head was the most commonly injured site of the body; in this regard, 59.7% of the admitted patients and 85.4% of total death cases had a head injury. In addition, 67% of the target population received trauma in more than two parts of their body. The elbow, arm, and hip were the least regions involved. Conclusion: Motorcycle accidents cause severe physical injuries to the patients’ body. Head injury was the most common type of trauma, leading to a wide range of disabilities. Therefore, the use of crash helmets and avoidance of dangerous driving behaviors will remarkably decrease such trauma. Level of evidence: IV