Pedestrians struck by pedestrians are more likely to die from internal and blood vessel injuries than from head and limb damage
Los peatones atropellados tienen más riesgo de morir por lesiones internas y en vasos sanguíneos que por daños en la cabeza y las extremidades
Pedestrians struck by pedestrians are more likely to die from internal and blood vessel injuries than from head and limb damage
A study by the European Center for Injury Prevention of the University of Navarra reminds that 50,000 people die in the EU due to traffic accidents.
The European Center for Injury Prevention at the University of Navarra has conducted a study showing that the most life-threatening injuries following a collision are internal and blood vessel damage, not head or limb damage, as was the majority opinion.
This research, in which the professors of the department de Preventive Medicine and Public Health María Seguí-Gómez, Carlos Arregui and Francisco J. López-Valdés have participated, has been published in the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention. The study used data of hospital discharges from eight European countries -Bulgaria, Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands- and analyzed information from more than 10,000 pedestrians who had suffered 20,000 injuries.
The conclusion reached by the experts was that the most frequent problems in accidents are fractures (51.1%) and internal injuries (21.3%). However, the greatest risk of death corresponds to the latter and to damage to blood vessels. On the other hand, head and lower extremity injuries have a risk of death of 26%. "Among them, spine and thorax injuries show a higher risk to life, and hip and lower limb injuries are the most frequent cause of functional limitation one year after hospital discharge," explains María Seguí, director of the center.
8,500 pedestrian fatalities per year in the EU
In Europe around 50,000 people die annually due to injuries resulting from traffic collisions. Of these, 8,500 are pedestrians. "In this respect, we have very little information on pedestrian injury patterns, so we are unable to prioritize the measures needed to prevent harm. The majority of the programs of study are limited to analyzing the risk of death of pedestrians with respect to drivers," the researcher explains.
As a consequence, the main goal of the study, carried out by professors of the School of Medicine of the University of Navarra, consisted in creating a point of reference letter to evaluate the effectiveness of current injury prevention strategies; as well as to design new and more effective patterns, also from the point of view of engineering and manufacturing of automobiles.
Interview with María Seguí-Gómez on 98.3 Radio:
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