Unfolding the full extent of major road trauma crashes

Major trauma (MT) is a term used for pre-hospital patients that have sustained life-threatening injury. Trauma patients from the same road traffic crash are seldom matched in hospital data and therefore the individuals in need of medical care from MT crashes are likely underestimated. Using a hospital and police matched road crash database, additional individuals from MT crashes were retrieved. The sample of individuals increased from 2,542 MT patients to a total of 4,937 individuals. Emergency department presentations increased by 39.8% and ambulance transportation by 34.8%. Ninety-five additional fatalities were not accounted for in the original MT sample.