Causes and Severity of Fatal Injuries in Autopsies of Victims of Fatal Traffic Accidents

In this retrospective study, we decided to determine the death causes and severity of injuries in traffic accidents according to reports of the forensic medical center of Yazd. A total of 251 fatalities due to traffic accidents that had undergone autopsy examinations at the Yazd forensic medicine center from2006 till 2008 were included in the study by census method. Data regarding gender, road user type, type of vehicle (car, motorcycle, autobus or minibus), consciousness level, and intensive care unit (ICU) admission was gathered. For evaluation of injury severity, we used Injury Severity Score (ISS). The population under study consisted of 202 men (80.5%) and 49 women (19.5%) with an average age of 34.1 years (range: 1-89 years). Motorcycle-pedestrian accidents were the most common type of injury (100, 39.8%). Head (220, 87.6%) and face (169, 67.3%) were the two most common sites of injuries. Mean (±SD) of ISS was 23.2 (±10.4). According to autopsy records, the main cause of death was head trauma (146, 58.1%). Public awareness in terms of primary prevention of road accidents should be considered important. Also, regarding the high prevalence of brain injuries and complications associated with skull fractures, accessibility to neurosurgeons and availability of imaging devices have an important role in decreasing the mortality rate of traffic accidents.