Epidemiology and Outcome Determinants of Pedestrian Injuries in a Level I Trauma Center in Southern Iran; A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: To epidemiologically assess the accidents and incidents in the injured pedestrians referred to Shahid Rajaee Hospital, Shiraz in order to provide basic preventive strategies and reduce injuries and fatalities caused by traffic accidents in pedestrians.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 5840 injured pedestrians referred to Shahid Rajaee Hospital, Shiraz from 2009 to 2014. The baseline characteristic including the demographic and clinical information, the mechanism of injury, injury severity score (ISS) and outcome determinants. We also recorded the outcome measures and the mortality. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate the factors related to mortality rate and Length of Stay (LOS) in hospital.Results: In our study, the history of 5840 injured pedestrians was analyzed. The mean age of the patients was 41.32±19.21 years. Multivariate logistic regression indicated that mortality increased with age. Moreover, the odds of mortality was more in patients with Injury Severity Score (ISS) between 16 and 24 [OR: 12.94, 95% CI (3.78-32.66), p=0.001] and injuries in the head and neck [OR: 7.92, 95% CI (4.18-14.99), p=0.020]. LOS in hospital was also higher in patients with ISS > 25 [OR: 16.65, 95%CI (10.68-25.96), p=0.001].Conclusion: Pedestrians have always been one of the most vulnerable road users. Our study indicated that the adverse consequences and mortalities in pedestrians increased with age. Hence, approaches are required to improve primary prevention programs and reduce deaths and injuries due to this major public health problem.