| dc.description.abstract | Background: In Kenya, the increased use of motorcycles for
transport has led to increased morbidity, mortality, and disability.
These injuries exert a burden on the public health system, yet little
information exists on health care resource usage by motorcycle
crash injury patients. We aimed to estimate the burden of motorcycle crash injuries on the health system in Kisumu City.
Methods: We conducted a 6-month prospective study of all motorcycle crash injury patients who presented to 3 Tier III public and
private hospitals in Kisumu City between May and November
2019. We collected data on demographics, emergency department (ED) visits, admissions, anatomic injury site, services used,
and injury severity. We reviewed hospital records to obtain denominator data on all the conditions presenting to the EDs.
Results: A total of 1,073 motorcycle crash injury cases accounted
for 2.0%, 12.0%, and 13.6% of total emergency visits, total injuries,
and total admissions to the hospitals, respectively. Men were overrepresented (P<.001). The mean age was 29.6 years (6standard
deviation [SD] 12.19; range=2–84). The average injury severity
score was 12.83. Surgical interventions were required by 89.3%
of patients admitted. Of the 123 patients admitted to the intensive
care unit, 42.3% were due to motorcycle accident injuries.
Conclusion: Motorcycle injuries impose a major burden on the
Kisumu City public health system. Increased promotion and reinforcement of appropriate interventions and legislation can help
prevent accidents and mitigate their consequences. Focusing on motorcycle injury prevention will reduce accident-related morbidity,
hospitalization, severity, and fatalities and the impact on the public
health system | en_US |
