Exploring characteristics and severity of road traffic injuries in Lebanon using emergency department hospital-based data

Abstract In Lebanon, the lack of quality data on road traffic injuries (RTIs) led to the implementation of a hospital-based RTI surveillance system by the Ministry of Health in in private and public-run hospitals in the Bekaa governorate. This paper aims to describe the characteristics and severity of RTIs recorded over two years during the pilot phase. It also assesses the strengths and challenges of the surveillance system, highlighting areas for enhancement. The data collected from the Emergency department (ED) was used to conduct a retrospective analysis of population-based injuries hospitalized for road traffic crashes (RTC). Designated focal persons reported injuries weekly using a standardized form, which included demographic and crash-related variables, body lesions, and vital signs. Data were coded per the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10), entered into Epidata, and analyzed using SPSS. The RTI surveillance system was assessed using Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis. Over two years, a total of 1576 cases of RTIs were reported. The male-to-female ratio was 2.16 and the majority of RTIs (44.4%) were recorded among those aged between 15 and 29 years old. From 2013 to 2015, a decrease of 0.7% in the revised trauma score (RTS