C. Martínez Quezada1, G. Morales1, O. Chango2, A. Gerk3, T. Wurderman3,4, N. Kumar3,5, T. Dey7, T. Uribe-Leitz3,6, J. Salamea1,8 1Universidad del Azuay, Faculty Of Medicine, Cuenca, AZUAY, Ecuador 2Hospital Universitario del Río, Cuenca, AZUAY, Ecuador 3Harvard Medical School, Program In Global Surgery And Social Change, Boston, MA, USA 4Loma Linda University Medical Center, Department Of Surgery, Loma Linda, CA, USA 5University of California San Francisco, East Bay, Department Of Surgery, Oakland, CA, USA 6Technical University of Munich, Germany and Munich Data Science Institute (MDSI), Epidemiology, Department Of Sport And Health Sciences, Munish, BAVARIA, Germany 7Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Center For Surgery And Public Health, Department Of Surgery, Boston, MA, USA 8Hospital Vicente Corral Moscoso, Department Of Surgery, Cuenca, AZUAY, Ecuador
Introduction: Traffic accidents account for approximately 1.3 million deaths per year globally, and almost half are due to motorcycles. Moreover, 93% of this mortality occurs in low- and middle-income countries. In Ecuador, 21,352 traffic incidents were reported in 2021, of which 24.03% were caused by motorcycles, representing a public health problem that not only affects morbidity and mortality but also leads to a substantial economic burden. We aim to determine the annual economic impact caused by motorcycle-related traffic accidents treated at a High-Complexity Public Trauma Hospital in Ecuador – Vicente Corral Moscoso Hospital (HVCM).
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, data were extracted from the anonymized trauma and emergency service database, along with invoices from HVCM to the Public Traffic Accident Payment Service (SPPAT). We extracted data from all patients with motorcycle-related injuries admitted to the HVCM emergency service in 2021. Variables included gender, age, occupation, marital status, education, place of origin and residence, helmet use, breath alcohol content, trauma kinetics, type of trauma, injury by location, hospitalization days, and the following costs: medical fees, institutional services, laboratory tests, imaging tests, medical supplies, medications, and pre-hospital care. The costs were calculated based on the Service Pricing Guide for the National Health System.
Results: In 2021, 1639 patients were admitted due to traffic accidents in HVCM, with motorcycle accidents accounting for more than half (54.8%) of these cases. Of these, the majority were male (81.3%), and aged 16–29 years old (70.3%). The majority of patients did not require hospital admission(75.5%). When hospitalization was needed, the average length of stay was 6.1 days. In 2021 the total cost of motorcycle-related injuries in HVCM was $622,870.80 USD; of which, 86.3% corresponded to patients who required hospitalization (n=220, 24,5%), with an average of $2,442.27 USD per patient. Indirect expenses accounted for $87,208.53 USD, while the cumulative cost of days of incapacity reached $211,140 USD. As a result, the comprehensive annual expense attributed to motorcycle traffic accidents amounts to $921,219.43 USD.
Conclusion: Motorcycle accidents generate a significant impact on the economy of Ecuador's public health system. In 2021, these accidents cost an estimated $14.8 million USD nationally. This highlights the urgent need for stricter traffic law enforcement, public health intervertions and community engagement in Ecuador to significantly reduce fatalities and injuries of motorcycle-related traffic accidents, while also reducing financial burden.
