Der EM, Naporo S*, Damnyag JB* and Akosa AB
Background: Road Traffic Acciden trelated (RTA) deaths are common in young Ghanaian adults and are therefore of public health concern. Reliable data on the categories of victims who are commonly involved and the patterns and outcomes RTA are limited in Ghana. The aim of this study was to describe the spectrum of road traffic related- deaths in Accra Ghana, the demographic characteristics of the victims and the immediate causes of death using a retrospective autopsy study. Materials and methods: This was a retrospective autopsy study conducted in our institution from 1st January 2004 to 31st December 2013. The data was analysed using SPSS software (Version 23). Results: During the period under review, 6.1% of all coroner autopsy performed in our institutions were RTArelated deaths. The younger age 20-29 years group, were commonly involved (22.2%) with male predominance (77.7%). The victims of RTA-related deaths were pedestrians (59.9%), passengers (19.3%), motor riders (8.7%), drivers (6.8%) cyclists (2.2%) and pillion riders (1.5%). The mean ages in years of these victims were: pedestrians (37.6), passengers (37.0), drivers (39.1), motor riders (32.0) pillion riders (31.7) and cyclists (37.2). The common immediate causes of deaths in all the victims were head injury, multiple bony and soft tissue injuries. Conclusion: Approximately 6.1% of all coroner autopsies performed during the study period were RTA-related deaths, particularly the young male adults. The most affected victims were the pedestrian knockdowns, passengers and motor riders. Majority of the victims died of severe head injury and multiple bony and soft tissues injuries and died as a result of these injuries