Profile of Injured Patients Presenting to a Tertiary Hospital in a Developing Country

Background: In most developing countries including Lebanon, trauma research is lacking and warranted. Objectives of the current study were to describe trauma patients referred to a tertiary care center during one year and identify outcomes and patterns of injury.

Methods: Review of hospital charts of every 12th consecutive patient presenting to the emergency unit (ED) after a traumatic event during the year 2001-2002. Data collected include: demographics, injury description, and hospital data.

Results: A total of 736 patients were included, 212 pediatric, 455 young, and 62 geriatric patients. The most common body regions injured were the extremities followed by the face. The most encountered mechanism of injury was fall from less than 15 feet (38.2%) followed by penetrating/gunshot injury (14.8%), and road traffic accidents (11.8%). The rates of hospital admission and surgical intervention were highest among geriatric patients (p = 0.03 and p < 0.001). Most injuries occurred during the evening shift and the average time spent in the ED was 86 minutes. The police was informed in 6.6% of the cases.

Conclusions: Falls represent a worrisome mechanism across all age groups. This may be an indication for unaddressed occupational hazards for the working young and lack of awareness about the need for more children supervision. More rigorous investigation of intentional and unintentional firearm injuries, and their predisposing factors are needed.