Comparison of trauma severity in and out of the navigation ring around the metropolis: a case of Tabriz, Iran

Objective: One of the causes of severe injuries in urban accidents is the occurrence of accidents on urban highways and city outskirts. The present study will determine the severity of accidents in the complete urban ring of Tabriz, including Shahid Kasaei highway, Pasdaran, Dizel Abad, Sento road, and Airport road in Tabriz during the years 2016-2022. Methods: In a cross-sectional descriptive study, the injuries from traffic accidents that were registered in the pre-hospital emergency center of Tabriz city were included. The study variables included all the information recorded in the pre-hospital emergency file between 2016 and 2022 and included 44,712 injured patients. Timing of the missions, variables related to the injured (demographics, vital signs), the accident's location, the injury's severity, and the accident's outcome were evaluated at the scene. Data were analyzed by SPSS 24 software. Results: Among 44,712 patients, 32,299 (72.2%) were men and the rest were women. Regarding the location of the accident, 34321 (76.8%) of the injured were inside the city, and 10391 (23.2%) had an accident in the city traffic ring. The most common accident site was in the traffic ring on Pasdaran highway, with 3179 injured (30.6%). The rate of on-scene death was higher in traffic accidents inside the traffic ring (1.3% vs. 0.9%). The severity of trauma was higher inside the traffic ring (P-value ˂0.001). Reaction and response time were higher in missions outside the traffic ring, leading to death at the scene (P value˂0.001). Conclusion: Based on the study results and the role of arrival time on the outcome of missions, it seems necessary to establish new pre-hospital emergency stations inside the city. It is necessary to pay more attention to education through the media and improve the general culture of society to reduce the accidents and injuries caused by it.