Assistance to victims of traffic accidents through the prehospital service: a cross-sectional study

Aim: to evaluate the profile of traffic accident assistance performed by the Mobile Emergency Service (Servigo de Atendimento Movel de Urgencia - SAMU) of a city in the South of Brazil. Method: a cross-sectional, retrospective and quantitative study, developed with data from 342 victims of traffic accidents attended by SAMU in 2015, statistically analyzed. Results: among the victims, men prevailed (71.3%); ages ranged from 15 to 44 years (65.7%); and who were involved in automobile accidents with motorcycles (29.2%). The most frequent lesions were bruises (48.2%) and short-bruises (33.0%); and those involving multiple body sites (50.6%) and lower and upper limbs (85.1%). Advanced support accounted for 75.1% of incidents. Conclusion: it was found a statistical association between the mechanisms of accident with age groups, with open and closed fractures and lesions in the upper and lower limbs. Descriptors: Accidents,Traffic; Emergency Medical Services; Epidemiological Studies.