Young adults and riding position: factors that affect mortality among inpatient adult motorcycle casualties: a major trauma center experience.

Abstract

In Singapore, road traffic accidents (RTAs) are the second most common cause of deaths in trauma. Motorcycle casualties account for 54% of all fatalities. Studies have shown that the mean age of motorcycle casualties is significantly younger than that of other RTA victims. We reviewed the mortality of all motorcycle casualties>or=16 years admitted to an acute hospital as emergencies from January 2004 to December 2006. To determine the impact of age on mortality, we divided our patients into two groups, one<or=21 years (younger group) and another>21 years (older group). A subset analysis based on riding position (driver versus passenger) was performed to determine the inpatient mortality rate in these two groups. There were 96 (14%) patients in the younger group and 586 (86%) patients in the older group. The mortality rate for younger motorcycle casualties was significantly higher (14.6% versus 8%; p=0.04). Also, there were significantly more passengers in the younger group (25% versus 8.4%; p=0.0001). The mortality rate among young passengers was significantly higher than that among young drivers (29.2% versus 9.7%; p=0.019). Likewise, the mortality rate of the young passengers was also significantly higher than that among older passengers (29.2% versus 10.2%; p=0.04). Young motorcycle casualties have a significantly higher mortality rate than older motorcycle casualties. Young passengers have the highest mortality rate and contribute significantly to the death rate among young motorcycle casualties.