Analysis of Adult Trauma Patients Admitted to Emergency Department

Purpose: Trauma is one of the most common reason of admissions to emergency departments. In this study, it was aimed to determine the demographic characteristics, etiology, morbidity and mortality rates and prognosis of adult trauma patients admitted to our emergency department (ED). Materials and Methods: Patients over the age of 18 years, who admitted to ED between 01 March 2011 and 31 August 2011 were included in this retrospective study. Patient examination cards, hospitalization files and records entered with ICD 10 codes to hospital automation system were analyzed. Patients with inaccessible data were excluded from the study. Results: During the study period, total number of 110495 patients admitted to ED, and 13585 (12,29%) of them admitted with trauma. Simple extremity injuries (38,28%) and falls (31,7%) were most common etiological factors. Glasgow coma scales of 99,71% of the patients were between 13 and 15. Of the patients with trauma, 9,6% had a Computed Tomography (CT) scan, and 84,5% of CT scans were evaluated as normal, and cranial CT was the most requested one. Only 6% of the patients were hospitalized, and 0,9% of the trauma patients died. Falls from height in females and traffic accidents in males were the leading causes of death. Conclusion: Most of the patients with simple traumas admitted to ED can be discharged from the hospital with a complete history and careful examination. The rate of unnecessary medical tests, loss of time and waste money should be reduced, and the time and labor allocated to severe patients can be increased by this way.