Analysis of hospital morbidity seen with motor vehicle accidents in public hospitals of Brazil

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Morbidity due to motor vehicle accidents was analysed in a descriptive study based on reports of hospitals with the objective to characterize their victims, types of injuries, and the health care provided. METHODS: The study was carried out in two municipal hospitals of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Motor vehicle accidents were defined as a run over, a collision, and "other traffic accidents". Data was collected from cases seen in May (Hospital 1) and June (Hospital 2) of 1996 by 7 teams that alternated in shifts of 12 hours, covering the collection 24 hours per day. The events were classified according to the victim or, when it was impossible, to the person who helped them or accompanied them to the hospital. RESULTS: In the study period, 320 cases were seen in Hospital 1 and 290 in Hospital 2. Most of the victims were men (69.3%) in both of hospitals and the most affected group was young adults between 20 to 39 years (60.5% in Hospital 1 and 47.5% in Hospital 2). Of all 610 cases, the main cause of injury was run overs (49.3%), followed by collisions (35.6%), and "other traffic accidents" (15.1%). CONCLUSIONS: The analysis of the cases distributions and the type of care required corroborates with the need of a better organization of hospital care teams, more completeness of hospital reports and emphasis on some aspects in prevention campaigns.