Injuries Associated with Auto-Tricycle Crashes in an African City: Incidence and Pattern

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and pattern of injuries resulting from auto-tricycle crashes among patients in a tertiary referral centre in Ghana. Methods: Data were retrospectively extracted from hospital records of patients who got involved in auto-tricycle crashes and presented to the Accident and Emergency Centre of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), over a one-year period using a structured questionnaire. The gathered data were then entered into an electronic database and then analysed with SPSS version 20.0. Results: The incidence of injury following auto-tricycle crashes over the one-year period was 5.9% (95% CI: 4.9% - 7.0%) with a case fatality rate (FR) of 3.8% (95% CI: 1.3% - 8.7%). All the mortalities resulted from head and neck injuries and none of the patients involved wore a crash helmet. Only 5% of those studied wore crash helmets and were all drivers. Closed fractures accounted for 58% of the injuries, followed by open fractures, 28%. The most commonly fractured bones were the tibia/fibula, followed by the femur and then radius/ulna. The most common mechanism of injury was auto-tricycle toppling over (29%). Passengers were the most injured (48%), followed by drivers (37%) and pedestrians (15%). Most (72%) injuries among participants involved a single body part. On the injury severity scale, most (61%) of patients had minor trauma and 38% had major trauma. Conclusion: Auto-tricycle crashes account for 5.9% of injuries at the study site with a case fatality rate of 3.8%. Passengers had a higher injury rate (48%) than drivers (37%). Fractures of the tibia/fibula were most commonly associated with auto-tricycle crashes. Injuries to the head and neck were responsible for the deaths in the study participants and non-use of a crash helmet was associated with mortalities.