. Jency Antony; . Venkatachalam Jayaseelan; . Jeby Jose Olickal; . Joseph Alexis; . Manikandanesan Sakthivel
Volume 11, Issue 10 , November 2021, , Pages 1-6
Abstract
BACKGROUND: In India, most of the deaths due to road traffic accidents (RTAs) occur within24 h of the accident. Hence, this study aimed to assess the proportion of RTA victims reaching ...
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BACKGROUND: In India, most of the deaths due to road traffic accidents (RTAs) occur within24 h of the accident. Hence, this study aimed to assess the proportion of RTA victims reaching thehealth‑care facilities within the golden hour.MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross‑sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care center inSouth India between August and September 2017. All RTA victims who were admitted for treatmentin the emergency department during the study period were included. Data were collected usingstructured, pretested, and validated pro forma. Hospital exit outcomes between those who reachedwithin 1 h and those who did not were expressed as proportion with a 95% confidence interval (CI).The factors associated with hospital exit outcomes were analyzed using a Chi‑square test.RESULTS: Among 626 RTA victims, the mean (standard deviation) age was 37.4 (2.6) years,and about 83% (n = 521) were male. More than one‑third (37%) of the RTAs occurred on urbanroads (n = 235, 37.5%). A total of 424 (67.7%) were referred from other hospitals. The meantime taken for RTA victims to reach any health‑care facility was 3 h. More than half (n = 346,55% [95% CI: 51.3–59.2]) of the RTA victims had reached a health‑care facility within thegolden hour. Among those who reached beyond the golden hour, one‑fourth (n = 77, 27.5%)were delayed due to the unavailability of transporting vehicles. Delay in communication (n = 59,21.1%), prolonged travel (n = 41, 14.6%), lack of knowledge about nearby facilities (n = 39,13.9%), nonavailability of attenders (n = 35, 12.5%) and financial issues (n = 29, 10.4%) werethe other reasons for the delay.CONCLUSION: Almost half of the RTA victims reached the health‑care facilities after the goldenhour. Unavailability of ambulances or vehicles for transport and delay in communication were theimportant factors that played a role in the delay.