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Address emergency services: expert

BHUBANESWAR: With rate of road accidents rising fast, Neuro-trauma Society of India (NSI) said there was an urgent need to address emergency services and trauma care, which was a neglected domain in the country.

NSI would discuss the issue of trauma care threadbare at its 17th annual scientific conference which is to be held at Bhubaneswar from August 22 to 24.

“There is no doubt that trauma is a major public-health problem with high morbidity and mortality. Issues including pre-hospital care, communication systems such as free call centre, disaster preparedness, definitive trauma care facilities, rehabilitation and road safety standards and preventive aspect of road traffic accidents need to be addressed immediately,” Dr. G. K Prusty, president elect of NSI, said.

Dr. Prusty said following accident more than 50 per cent died within first 15 minutes of the accident succumbing to their injuries before reaching the hospital.

“Second-peak deaths are commonly caused by such things as air or blood trapped in the pleural cavity, airway obstruction and acute blood loss following major fractures or abdominal injuries. About 35 per cent among them die within next one to two hours. Most of them are treatable,” he said.

The eminent doctor said if basic life support, first aid and replacement of fluids were arranged within first hour of the injury (the golden hour), many lives could be saved.

The third peak- complications arising from the injury kill another 15 per cent over the next thirty days. As high as 61 per cent of these are caused by sepsis and multiple organ failure, he said.

Pointing out that road accidents were preventable but not all deaths due to accident, Dr. Prusty said what was more tragic was that about 40 per cent of all trauma deaths could be avoided by preventive measures such as the establishment of regional trauma systems that would expedite the evaluation and treatment of seriously injured people.

According to the next president of NSI, the accident rate of 35 per 1000 vehicles in India was the highest in the world and mortality rate had increased from 30 per lakh (1970) to 50 per lakh (2002). On India’s roads, 95,000 persons died in 2005, he said. According to State Transport Authority, while 26 persons died in every 100 accidents in 1995, the fatality rate increased to 33 in 2006.

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