Survival and quality of hospital care for victims of car crashes in Western Azerbaijan, Iran

Background and aim: Car crashes are among the prevalent incidents seriously threatening public health. This study aimed to assess the survival and quality of hospital care for patients of car accidents in Western Azerbaijan, Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 1,697 trauma victims admitted to Imam Khomeini hospital in Urmia, Iran, during 2016. The data, including systolic pressure, Glasgow Coma Scale, respiratory rate prior to admittance, severity of injuries based on surgery description, limbs and brain computed tomography scan, and diagnostic ultrasound by an specialist, were collected from medical records. The survival chance of patients was estimated using Trauma and Injury Severity Score (TRISS). To evaluate the quality of hospital service, Z and W statistics were utilized. Results: Out of 1,697 admitted victims, 1,226 (72.3%) and 471 (27.7%) subjects were male and female, respectively. The patients were within the age range of 15-54 years, including 901 (75%) male and 296 (25%) female subjects. The predominant educational levels were under diploma and illiterate in male and female patients, respectively. The mean values of the Revised Trauma Score for the recovered and deceased patients were 7.75±0.38 and 6.19±1.59, respectively; however, the mean values of the Injury Severity Score for the recovered and deceased patients were 14.57±13.72 and 52.03±27.02, respectively, indicating a statistically significant difference between the two groups. The number of observed mortalities was 69; nevertheless, the expected mortalities were 60 cases. Furthermore, the quantified W and Z statistics were -9 and 0.02, respectively. Conclusions: The results showed that the observed mortality exceeded the expected morality indicating the low quality of hospital care.