Analysis of Road Traffic Injuries Presented to the Emergency Department in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia: a Hospital-based Study

The increasing incidence of road traffic injuries (RTIs) has contributed to the disability and death of millions of people on both a national and global level. This retrospective study was conducted at King Fahad University Hospital (KFUH), Khobar, Saudi Arabia, and included all patients who presented at the emergency department due to road traffic accidents (RTAs) between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022. Patient data was retrieved from the health information system at KFUH. Descriptive and inferential analysis were performed with several variables analyzed using multivariate logistic regression and factorial ANOVA (MANOVA). During this period, 921 patients were treated at the hospital's emergency department. Of these, 611 (66.3%) were men and 310 (33.7%) were women. The most frequently affected age group was 16-25, representing 427 (46.4%) cases. Most patients were Saudi citizens (837, 90.9%). Among the patients, 19 (2.1%) required surgical treatment within 24 hours of the RTA, and 29 (3.1%) were admitted to the surgical intensive care unit (SICU). There were eight fatalities, representing 0.9% of the cases. January had the highest number of RTAs (12.7%). Moreover, 463 individuals (50.3%) had some form of injury, the most common type being lacerations and abrasions (n=228, 24.8%). Upper limb fractures were the most frequent type of fracture, occurring in 73 cases (7.9%). Being male (P=0.001), non-Saudi (P=0.014), and experiencing accidents during June and July (P=0.002) were associated with an increased prevalence of injury. Mortality had a statistically significant relationship with different patient age groups (P=0.014), patient citizenship (P=0.005), and length of hospital stay (P<0.001).