Analysis of increased motorcycle accidents during the COVID-19 pandemic: a single-center study from Türkiye

BACKGROUND: The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to a unique set of circumstances, straining health-care systems and affecting the way of life in societies around the world. Measures such as social isolation, travel restrictions, and workplace closures have led to an increase in motorcycle use. Consequently, motorcycle accidents have become a significant problem during this period. This study presents detailed research conducted to examine motorcycle accidents during the COVID-19 pandemic and to understand the causes and consequences of the increase in these accidents.
METHODS: This research evaluated records from a single health examination and used various models to analyze motorcycle acci-dents within a specified time period. Additionally, retrospective analyses were conducted to examine associations between motorcycle use and crashes in our country before and after the pandemic. The records of 386 patients who were injured in motorcycle accidents and followed up, received treatment, and were recorded at Biruni University Hospital between November 2015 and April 2023 were retrospectively examined. Noted details included the victims' age, gender, injury mechanism, injury site, injury severity, helmet use, presence and location of fractures, time distribution of the accident, and the severity of other important tissue injuries. The relationship between the injury site, fractures, and accident details, and the "Injury Severity Score" (ISS) was also investigated.
RESULTS: Among the 386 injured victims in motorcycle accidents, 333 were male and 53 were female. Of these, 168 (43.5%) were motorcycle drivers, 137 (35.5%) were motorcycle couriers, and 81 (21%) were pedestrians. A total of 186 (48%) injuries occurred before the pandemic (November 2015-March 2020), while 200 (52%) were sustained during the pandemic. The study indicates a noticeable increase in motorcycle injuries, particularly among motor couriers, especially during the pandemic quarantine periods. Post hoc analysis revealed that motor couriers had significantly lower ISS compared to other professions (p=0.009 and p=0.045, respectively). Motorcyclists who wore helmets were found to have significantly lower ISS than those who did not wear helmets (p<0.05). Furthermore, it was found that the ISS was positively correlated with the number of bone fractures, total soft tissue injury, and significant clinical characteristics (r=0.758, r=0.756, and p<0.001, respectively).
CONCLUSION: This clinical study’s findings demonstrate that the measures implemented during the pandemic to limit society's mobility have led to an increase in motorcycle accidents. Notably, there has been a significant rise in the number of accidents, particularly involving individual motorcycle use and motorcycle courier services.

COVID-19 pandemisi sýrasýnda artan motosiklet kazalarýnýn analizi: Türkiye'den tek merkezli bir çalýþma

AMAÇ: COVID-19 pandemisi, dünya genelinde saðlýk sistemlerini zorlayan ve toplumlarýn yaþam biçimlerini etkileyen benzersiz bir durumu beraberinde getirdi. Sosyal izolasyon önlemleri, seyahat kýsýtlamalarý ve iþ yerlerinin kapanmasý gibi önlemler, motosiklet kullanýmýnýn artmasýna ve bu dönemde motosiklet kazalarýnýn önemli bir sorun haline gelmesine yol açtý. Bu klinik araþtýrmanýn amacý, COVID-19 Pandemisi dönemindeki motosiklet kazalarýný incelemek ve bu kazalarýn artýþýnýn nedenlerini ve sonuçlarýný detaylý olarak incelemektir.
GEREÇ VE YÖNTEM: Bu araþtýrmada tek saðlýk merkezine ait týbbi kayýtlar incelenmiþ ve belirlenmiþ bir zaman aralýðýndaki motosiklet kazalarýnýn analizi için çeþitli yöntemler kullandýk. Ayrýca, ülkemizde pandeminin baþlangýcýndan önce ve sonra motosiklet kullanýmý ile kazalar arasýndaki iliþkiyi incelemek için istatistiksel analizlerini yaptýk. Biruni Üniversitesi Týp Fakültesi Hastanesi'nde Kasým 2015-Nisan 2023 tarihleri arasýnda kayda geçirilmiþ, motosiklet kazasý öyküsü ile yaralanan ve ayný merkezde takip, tedavisi yapýlan 386 hastanýn kayýtlarý retrospektif olarak incelendi. Olgularýn yaþ, cinsiyet, yaralanma mekanizmasý, yaralanma bölgesi, yaralanma ciddiyeti, kask kullanýmý, kýrýk varlýðý ve bölgesi, kazanýn zaman daðýlýmý ve diðer önemli doku yaralanmalarýn ciddiyet durumlarýný ve yaralanma bölgesi, kýrýklar ve kaza detaylarý ile “Yaralanma Þiddeti Skoru” (Injury Severity Score –ISS) arasýndaki iliþkiyi araþtýrdýk.
BULGULAR: Motosiklet kazalarýnda yaralanan 386 kazazedenin (Erkek n=333, Kadýn n=53), motorsikletli kurye (n=137, %35.5), bireysel motosiklet kullanýcýsý (n=168, %43.5), motosiklet kazasý maðduru (n= 81, %21) ana baþlýklarý altýnda daðýlýmý incelendiðinde, 305 kazazedenin sürücü (%79), 33’ünün (%8.5) motorsiklet yolcusu, 47 kazazedenin yaya (%12.2) ve 1 kazazedenin (%0.3) ise paten sürücüsü olduðunu belirledik. Yaralanma mekanizmalarý incelendiðinde; otokontrolü kaybetme -çarpýþmasýz kazalar- nedeniyle oluþan kazalarýn baskýn olduðu (n=225, %58.3) görüldü. Kazazedelerin tamamý kýrýk varlýðý ve kýrýk bölgesi yönünden incelendiðinde; toplamda 175 kýrýk saptadýk. Sürücülerde kýrýklarýn daha çok sýklýkla üst ekstremite, pelvis ve alt ekstremite kýrýklarý þeklinde olduðunu bulduk. Tüm olgular kemik kýrýklarý ve yumuþak doku yaralanmalarý yönünden incelendiðinde; total kemik kýrýðý sayýsý ve total yumuþak doku travmasý sayýlarý arttýkça ISS deðerlerinin artýþ gösterdiðini belirledik.
SONUÇ: Klinik çalýþmamýzýn bulgularý, COVID-19 pandemisinin toplumun hareketliliðini sýnýrlamak için alýnan önlemlerin motosiklet kazalarýnda bir artýþa neden olduðunu göstermektedir. Özellikle bireysel motosiklet kullanýmý ve motorlu kurye hizmetleri sýrasýnda meydana gelen kazalarýn sayýsýnda belirgin bir artýþ saptanmýþtýr.