oa Pediatric road traffic injuries in Qatar: Identifying high- risk mechanisms and age groups

Road traffic injuries are recognized as the leading killer in Qatar, causing 1 in 8 deaths. ten percent of all victims are children, under the age of 18. Evidence is needed to inform the formulation of preventive programs to make the children of Qatar safer on the roads. A retrospective analysis was done on trauma registry data of the Trauma Section, Department of Surgery, Hamad General Hospital. All patients, under 18 years, who presented with road related injuries from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2012 were included. There were 443 patients who made up 9.1 % of all trauma patients. 83.3% were male and motor vehicle crashes [MVC] made up 54.4%, Pedestrians [PED] 25.5%, ATV's 13.5%, Motorcyclists [MCC] 5% and Bicyclists [BIKE] 1.6% of all patients seen. Adolescents, ages 15-18, made up 56,4% of MVC victims. Toddlers, ages 1-4, made up 40.7% of PED victims. Older children, ages 10-14, made up 57.6% of all ATV and 61.9% of all BIKE victims. Targeted programs should be implemented to address the greatest risk for road trauma in each age-group.Implementing best evidence through school-based educational programs should be considered.