This retrospective study presents an analysis of pediatric patients (aged 12 or under) treated at Riyadh Central Hospital (R.C.H.) over a 5 year period following road traffic accidents. About 19 percent of all road traffic accident victims (11,224) were under 12 years of age, the majority being Saudis (67%) and males (68%). The majority of victims were pedestrians (41.5%) most (61%) of the victims were in the preschool age group (i.e. under 6 years of age). Twenty children (0.9%) were actually driving the car when they were involved in the accident. The majority of patients (51%) had head injuries. The next largest group suffered bone fractures, and twenty-one percent of the patients had multiple injury and needed multi-disciplinary care. Only 14 percent of the patients were admitted under the care of general surgeons. The overall mortality was 9 percent. The study highlights the need for public education about traffic laws, road usage and vigorous enforcement of traffic rules.
Samenvatting