Pattern of Injuries in Trauma Patients Presenting in Accident and Emergency Department of Jinnah Hospital, Lahore

Objective: To observe the pattern of injuries in patients involved in different kinds of trauma presenting to the Accident and Emergency Department of Jinnah Hospital Lahore. Design: A prospective descriptive epidemiological study. Place and duration of study: Accident and emergency department of Jinnah Hospital Lahore. From 1st April 2005 to 30th September 2005. Subjects and methods: The study included patients presenting with different kinds of trauma to the emergency department of Jinnah Hospital, Lahore. They were further categorized into trauma of different regions of the body i.e. upper limb, lower limb, abdomen, head & neck, thorax and perineum. Then frequency of different types of trauma was determined. Results: During this period (1st April2005 to 30th September 2005), 111'413 patients presented in accident and emergency department and 4680 patients had traumatic injury. 1404 patients (30%) had blunt trauma, 134(2.86%) had penetrating firearms injury, 2433(51.99%) had penetrating sharp injury and 709 patients (15.15%) had crush injury. Most patients got upper limb, lower limb, head & neck and abdominal injuries, in that order. Most patients received multiple injuries. 3340 patients (71.36%) got only minor surgery like stitching under local anaesthesia and 468 patients (10%) had no surgery at all. 872 patients (18.63%) underwent some kind of major surgical procedure like amputation, exploratory laparotomy, or stitching under GA etc. Conclusion: Trauma is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among all age groups. Most of the trauma victims receiving minor injuries can be treated at primary heath care centers. This can decrease the load of tertiary care hospitals. Maximum impact in reducing the burden of trauma must come from injury prevention strategies.