Profile of Accident Cases Attending the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Nigeria

Background: Accidents have probably happened since the first caveman lit the first fire. This study profiled accidents cases handled at the Accident and Emergency Department (AED) of University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), Nigeria from 1st January, 2013 to 31st December, 2017.
Materials and Methods: Sequel to obtaining Ethical Clearance, data were extracted from the AED patients' register by systematic sampling.
Results: Socio-demographics showed 68.8% of accident victims were male and 31.2% female just as most (31.4%) were within the 21-30-year age bracket. Also, most accidents occurred in January (12.3%), April (12.6%) and December (9.6%) - mainly festive periods in especially the Southern part of the country. Road Traffic Accidents topped the list at 67.9% just as head injury occurred more frequently than multiple body region injury.
Conclusion: Road Traffic Accidents remain the leading cause of presentation of accident victims to the A & E of UPTH and involved the youth and energetic work force with festive periods accounting for sudden rises, it recommended that more road health and safety education be carried by all concerned parties especially the Government while also increasing monitoring and enforcement of traffic rules on our roads. The register of AED` in the UPTH and Nigerian hospitals in general needs to be upgraded to the use of computer software to build a database for easy accessibility and better preservation of records

背景：自最早期的穴居人点燃第一堆火以来，事故或许早已发生。本研究对尼日利亚港口哈科特教学医院（University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital，简称UPTH）急诊科（Accident and Emergency Department，简称AED）在2013年1月1日至2017年12月31日期间处理的意外事故案例进行了详细分析。材料与方法：在获得伦理批准后，通过对AED患者登记册的系统抽样，提取了相关数据。结果：社会人口统计学分析显示，68.8%的意外事故受害者为男性，31.2%为女性，其中大多数（31.4%）处于21至30岁年龄段。此外，大多数事故发生在1月（12.3%）、4月（12.6%）和12月（9.6%），这些月份主要是国家的节日时期，尤其是国家的南部地区。道路交通事故位居首位，占67.9%，而头部伤害的发生频率高于多部位伤害。结论：道路交通事故仍然是UPTH急诊科接诊意外事故受害者的主要原因，涉及年轻及精力充沛的劳动力，节日时期导致事故发生率突然上升。因此，建议所有相关方，尤其是政府，应加强道路健康与安全教育，并增加对交通规则的监控和执法力度。UPTH及尼日利亚医院急诊科的登记册需要升级至使用计算机软件，以建立数据库，便于数据的便捷访问和更好地保存记录。