Traffic accident victims and polytrauma patients: injury patterns, outcome and their influencing factors

Abstract

Road traffic accidents (RTA) contribute significantly to the global burden of trauma. The World Health Organization indicates that approximately 1.3 million people die each year on the world's roads and between 20 and 50 million sustain non-fatal injuries. The introduction of extensive traffic safety laws, preventive governmental programs and substantial changes in (the organisation of) pre- and in-hospital trauma care have resulted in a gradual decrease in road traffic injuries and fatalities in the 1990s and onward in the Netherlands. Since 2006, however, the number of seriously injured road traffic participants has been increasing despite these government measures to improve road safety. In 2018, an estimated 21,700 people were seriously injured in traffic in the Netherlands, approximately 1,000 more than in 2017.

The primary aim of this thesis was to analyse injury patterns, injury severity and mortality for different types of road traffic participants involved in accidents in the Netherlands. Secondly, the association between blood alcohol concentrations, TBI patterns and patient outcome was analysed. Finally, patient and injury characteristics associated with HRQoL, fatigue and societal participation in polytrauma patients were identified.