Estimating the clinical and financial burden of motorcycle injuries on a rural faith-based hospital in Kenya: a 9-month retrospective review.

As motorcycle use increases across Africa, hospitals face rising clinical demands to treat injuries from motorcycle crashes. This study assesses the burden of motorcycle-related injuries on a faith-based hospital in rural Kenya, focusing on unreimbursed care. A retrospective review was conducted of patients presenting for care from September 2023 to May 2024 at Maua Methodist Hospital. Case-finding utilized International Classification of Diseases-10 (ICD-10) injury codes and the handwritten Casualty Department log; patient encounters were included in the analysis if clinical documentation confirmed a motorcycle injury. Of the 225 patients identified who presented for motorcycle-related injuries, the median age was 32 years, 35 (16%) were children, 20 (9%) were aged ≥65 years, and 18% (17 of 95 in the Casualty Department log) were pedestrians hit by motorcycles. Thirty-one percent (29 of 95) of patients who presented to the Casualty Department were referred for higher-level care, primarily for head injuries. Four patients died on presentation. Of the 23 hospitalizations, 15 (65%) included surgery, the primary driver of costs. Fifty-two percent of the 290 patient encounters were uninsured; reimbursements were especially poor for hospitalizations. In conclusion, multiple persons with motorcycle injuries presented each week for care at this faith-based hospital, incurring >1,755,000 KES (>13,500 USD) in unreimbursed charges over the nine months. Due to limitations in documentation and differences in healthcare costs between countries, this underestimates the burden of motorcycle-related injuries. Improving ICD-10-coded data for traffic accident injuries, as has been utilized by some trauma registries in Africa, can help monitor cases and costs, and advocate for motorcycle safety.