Caracterización de accidentes de tránsito y valoración tarifaria de la atención médica en el servicio de urgencias, Caldas-Antioquia 2007-2008

the objective of this study was to analyze the characteristics of person, time, place of events and injured people in traffic accidents and the rate of attention in the emergency department of san vicente de paul, hospital in the municipality of caldas. a total of 139 visits to hospital san vicente de paul of caldas (antioquia) emergency departments (ed) were analyzed in the period 2007-2008. the variables analyzed are presented as follows: type of road user (vehicle occupant, pedestrian, motorcyclist, and cyclist), sex, age group, and type of injury suffered. results: the majority of victims were male people (64%) in the 20-to-29-year age group (35.0%). vulnerable road users totaled 84.9% of all cases (20.9% were motorcyclists, 33.1% pedestrians, and 30.9% vehicle occupant). victims - aged between 1 and 89 years- who had suffered injuries were mostly pedestrians and vehicle occupants. head and polytrauma were the most affected body parts. conclusions: measures aimed to protect vulnerable road users must be considered a top priority to reduce traffic-related injuries.