All issues > Volume 22(12); 1979

Original Article

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 1979;22(12):1040-1050. Published online December 15, 1979.

An Epidemiological and Clinical Study on Injuries Sustained from Motor Vehicle Accidents in Children.

Sang Ghern Chung, Sung Han Kim, Chan Yung Kim

¹Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Busan National University, Korea.

Abstract

Rapid industrialization in this country has brought about many serious socioeconomic problems, one of which is presented by the sharp increase in motor vehicle accidents. It has become one of the leading causes of death in children and adults. A few epidemiological studies have been made concerning traffic accidents, but most of them have not payed special attention to the traffic injuries of children. It is for this reason the study was undertaken by the authors. The authors selected, as materials for the observation, 340 patients below 20 years of age with injuries sustained from motor vehicle accidents. They were treated at the emergency room of Busan National University Hospital during the period from the beginning of 1974 to the end of 1978. The cases were analyzed statistically from an epidemiological point of view and the following results were obtained. 1. The motor vehicle accidents were more frequent in male children than in female, the ratio of male to female being approximately 2:1. 2. Although the monthly frequencies of motor vehicle accidents were almost uniform in distribution, seasonally there seemed to be a significant variation, indicating low frequencies in winter and high in spring. 3. The frequencies of motor vehicle accidents were greater on Monday, Tuesday and Saturday. 4. The median of the times at which motor vehicle accidents occured during the day was about 3 P.M. in the age group below 11 years, about 4 P.M in the age group ranging from 12 to 17 years and about 7 P.M. in the age group ranging from 18 to 20 years. 5. among the major injuries sustained from motor vehicle accidents, the head injuries (injuries within the cranium and fractures of the cranial bones) were the most frequent, occupying more than 50%; a feature characteristic of traffic injuries in children.6. The younger the children, the more serious the injury sustained, and therefore the higher mortality rate observed. 7. In general motor vehicles of large size such as bus and truck tended to cause more serious injuries than those of small size such as sedan, automobile with three wheels and motorcycles. 8. The motor vehicle accidents ocurring in major roads were apt to cause more serious injuries than those in minor.

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