Young, male, road traffic victims: a systematic review of the published trauma registry literature from low and middle income countries

Background: Trauma contributes significantly to the global burden of disease. We analysed published trauma registries to assess the demographics of those most affected in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods: We performed a systematic review of published trauma registry studies according to PRISMA guidelines. We included published full-text articles from trauma registries in low and middle-income countries describing the demographics of trauma registry patients. Articles from military trauma registries, articles using data not principally derived from trauma registry data, articles describing patients of only one demographic (e.g. only paediatric patients), or only one mechanism of injury, trauma registry implementation papers without demographic data, review papers and conference proceedings were excluded. Results: The initial search retrieved 1868 abstracts of which 1324 remained after duplicate removal. After screening the abstracts, 78 full-text articles were scrutinised for their suitability for inclusion. Twenty three papers from 14 countries, including 103,327 patients, were deemed eligible and included for analysis. The median age of trauma victims in these articles was 27 years (IQR 25–29). The median percentage of trauma victims who were male was 75 (IQR 66–84). The median percentage of road traffic injuries (RTIs) as a percentage of total injuries caused by trauma was 46 (IQR 21–71). Conclusions: Young, male, road traffic victims represent a large proportion of the LMIC trauma burden. This information can inform and be used by local and national governments to implement road safety measures and other strategies aimed at reducing the injury rate in young males.