| Summary: | Road traffic accident is a preventable leading cause of death in Nigeria, and efforts must always be made at prevention of mishaps and better management of victims.
The Casualty Department of UNTH Enugu recorded a total of 2399 accident victims between 1st January 1993 and 31st December 1997. There was a seasonal variations with peaks in November, December and January.
There was a steady yearly increase in the absolute number of victims for the period, however the last two years recorded relative drops in the usual peak periods. Natural triage occured at the accidents scenes. Many with injuries not compatible with life died at the scene or in transit, and so could not receive any meaningful resuscitation. They were brought in as 'outside corpses'.
Head injury alone or in combination with other injuries accounted for about 60% of the cases. Eighty percent of the cases were successfully resucitated, and 8.6% referred to National Orthopaedic Hospital Enugu (NOHE). Mortality rate was 11%.
Management of patients was based on established principles related to injuries with modifications in some cases.
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