Traffic accidents are one of the main external causes of morbidity and mortality in various parts of the world, including Brazil, a country that has experienced rapid growth in the number of cars and motorcycles in the last 50 years. Non-compliance with traffic laws, excess speed and wrong decisions whilst overtaking another car or crossing a street often lead to accidents. In addition, the non-use of safety devices can increase morbidity and mortality related to such accidents. Londrina is the third largest city in southern Brazil with a population of approximately 470,000 inhabitants, 97% ofwhomlive in the urban area. In this city, external causes of morbidity and mortality occupy third place among the main causes of death, and traffic accidents account for approximately 40% of these causes. Although the mortality rate has been declining in recent years, it continues to be high (20.1/100,000 inhabitants in 2000).4 Prehospital care of traffic accident victims has been available in the city since June 1996, when the Integrated Service of Trauma and Emergence Care (SIATE, abbreviation in Portuguese) was implemented. SIATE is a 24-h service attending calls from the entire metropolitan region of Londrina, and maintains a database with continuous input of the circumstances of accidents/violence classified according to the 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting