[Fatal traffic accidents in Denmark. Survival time and factors of importance for the prehospital phase].

The aim of the study was to determine the length of time of survival, and which factors affected the length of the prehospital phase/treatment-free period for persons who died as a result of a traffic accident in the County of Southern Jutland during the period from 1 January 1986 to 31 December 1991. The study was conducted as a retrospective investigation based on police reports and medical records. Two hundred and ninety-nine traffic victims were included. One hundred and nineteen were still alive when the ambulance reached the scene of the accident. Thirty-five of these died within one hour of the accident occurring, and 24 of the 35 died before reaching the hospital. The number of patients who died days to weeks after the trauma was lower than expected. In 80.2% of the traffic accidents (comprising 229 people killed and 193 wounded) there were other factors than distance from accident site to hospital that had a negative effect on the length of the prehospital phase and treatment-free period. It is concluded that the time that elapses between the accident occurring and the patient arriving at hospital must be better utilized, and that when evaluating the length of the prehospital phase/treatment-free period there are other factors than distance to hospital that must be taken into account.