The Pan African Medical Journal article Pattern of Road Traffic Injuries in Yemen: A Hospital-Based Study examines the characteristics, risk factors and outcomes of road traffic injuries in Sana’a, Yemen. Published on 5 March 2018, the study followed 156 casualties from 128 road traffic crashes presenting to two referral hospitals between August and October 2015. It focuses on affected age groups, road-user categories, behavioral and environmental risks, transport to hospital, injury severity and short-term outcomes.
Key Insights
Road traffic injuries mainly affected young people: 73% of casualties were under 30 years old, with the 20–29 age group accounting for 34%.
Pedestrians represented 32% of casualties, vehicle occupants 38% and drivers 30%. Among drivers, more than half were motorized two-wheeler users.
Safety practices were very poor. None of the four-wheeled vehicle users wore seat belts, and none of the two-wheeled vehicle users wore helmets.
Poor driving skills were associated with 85% of casualties. Risky behaviors included aggressive driving, driving in the wrong direction and careless driving.
Pre-hospital response was limited: only 13% of casualties arrived by ambulance, while 71% were transported by taxi. The study also reports that none of the victims received first aid at the crash site.
Table 2 on page 8 shows that 16.7% sustained severe injuries. Among the 61 moderate or severe cases followed for 48 hours, 39.3% developed disability, 29.5% were deteriorating and 4.9% died.
The charts on page 9 show that limb fractures accounted for the largest share of major surgeries, while the brain was the most commonly affected internal organ.
The authors recommend establishing a multisectoral injury surveillance system, enforcing road-safety measures and improving pre-hospital and hospital trauma care.
There is a reporting inconsistency regarding admissions: the text refers to 61 cases requiring admission and follow-up, while Table 2 records 50 as admitted and 11 as referred to another hospital. The 61 appears to represent the combined moderate and severe injury cases rather than hospital admissions alone.
