In 2015, more than a fifth of children struck by trauma in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana died before they could avail emergency services, finds a new study that calls for improvement in pre-hospital trauma care in the country.
The study published by G.V. Ramana Rao, director of EMRI’s Emergency Medicine Learning Centre (EMLC), is based on analysis of data from the 108 ambulance service from the Telugu States. The analysis shows that 23% of the 9,517 under-14 children studied died before the arrival of emergency medical staff. Notably, the ambulance arrival time averaged 15 minutes.
The study also pointed out that 80% of childhood injuries could be prevented.
A breakup of district-wise statistics revealed that Ranga Reddy district in Telangana had 905 paediatric trauma cases, higher than any other district. Injuries due to vehicular trauma accounted for the bulk of such cases.
Trauma due to injuries sustained while riding a motorcycle or bicycle accounted over 75% of the total cases in both States.
Accidents sustained while using three-wheelers, a common mode of transport for schoolchildren, accounted for 7% in Andhra Pradesh and 6% in Telangana.
Describing concerns over vehicular trauma, Dr. Rao pointed out in the study that the use of helmet was negligible while riding bicycles, and the increasingly common problem of underage driving was contributing to road accidents.
Among the non-vehicular causes of trauma, skid and fall as well as fall from heights were the top two causes in both the States.
The study also suggested improving pre-hospital care and emergency services, involvement of the community in injury prevention, training bystanders as first responders following trauma, and enforcement of helmet rule were among the measures proposed to bring down mortality and disability in children due to trauma.
