Prevalence of Urogenital Injury following Road Accident: A Systematic Review

Introduction and hypothesis: Trauma complications have been one of the most serious public health concerns worldwide. In most reports, urogenital injuries (UGIs) are seen in approximately 10% of adult traumatic patients and less than 3% of children with multiple/severe trauma to the abdomen or pelvis. Traffic accidents are the most common cause of UGIs. The purpose of this study is to systematically determine the prevalence and types of UGIs after car accidents.

Methods: The search strategy was aimed at finding relevant studies in October 2023. No restrictions on language or date were applied. The following criteria were considered eligibility criteria: reporting at least one epidemiological aspect of UGIs in people with road traffic injury (RTI) and a separate epidemiological analysis of RTIs in UGI (we also included those articles that pointed out all RTIs but separately mentioned UGIs). Two experts assessed the reporting quality of articles using standardized critical appraisal instruments from the Joanna Briggs Institute. Statistical analysis for this study was conducted using the CMA statistical software version 3.2.0.

Results: A total of 1,466,024 cases following RTIs through 107 studies were included in our review. Of these, 29 studies were related to children (20,036), and the others reported RTIs in adults (1,445,988). The total prevalence was 4.7%, and car accidents were responsible in 36 studies, followed by motorcycle accidents in 25, bicycles in 17 studies, and automobile-pedestrian collisions in 23 related studies. In subgroup analysis based on the damaged organ, the rate of bladder injury was 3.5%. This rate was 5.3% for kidneys.

Conclusion: This systematic review and meta-analysis found that the prevalence of UGI following RTIs was 4.7%, with car accidents being the most common cause. UGIs were more prevalent in adults than in children, and bladder and kidney injuries were the most commonly reported types. The prevalence of UGI varied by country and study design.