Duration to recovery and its predictors among hospitalized road traffic injury patients in Southern Ethiopia: a cohort study

Road traffic injuries (RTIs) are a major cause of disability, morbidity and mortality in low-income settings like Ethiopia. Understanding how long patients take to recover and which factors influence recovery is essential for improving care. This study aimed to examine the duration of recovery and identify the key factors influencing it among patients admitted with RTIs at Hawassa University Comprehensive and Specialized Hospital (HUCSH) in Southern Ethiopia. We conducted a retrospective hospital-based cohort study of 359 RTI patients admitted to orthopedic and surgical wards at HUCSH between January 2023 and December 2024. Duration to recovery, defined as discharge with documented clinical improvement, was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier survival curves. Patients who died, were transferred, or discharged against medical advice were treated as censored. Independent predictors of recovery were identified using a Cox proportional hazards model, adjusted for relevant demographic and clinical factors. A Cox proportional hazards regression model was employed to control for potential confounders. Adjusted hazard ratios (AHRs) with 95% confidence intervals were reported, and statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. The median recovery duration was 9 days (95% CI: 8–11) Overall, 94.7% of patients were discharged with documented clinical improvement. In multivariable analysis, a lower hazard of recovery was observed among patients with multiple organ injuries (AHR = 0.57; 95% CI: 0.42–0.77), severe Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS ≤ 7) at admission (AHR = 0.33; 95% CI: 0.12–0.88), development of complications (AHR = 0.65; 95% CI: 0.48–0.88), and presence of comorbidities (AHR = 0.49; 95% CI: 0.31–0.77), indicating slower recovery. Kaplan–Meier analysis demonstrated that patients with complications, comorbidities, or multiple organ injuries had slower recovery trajectories. Recovery duration following RTIs is substantially influenced by the severity of injury, presence of complications, comorbidities, and GCS at admission. These findings highlight the need for targeted clinical interventions, close monitoring, and tailored management for high-risk patients to enhance recovery outcomes. Policymakers and hospital administrators should prioritize strategies to reduce complication rates and optimize care for patients with severe injuries.