Traumatic Injury among Patients Presenting to the Department of Emergency Medicine of a Tertiary Care Centre.

Introduction: The majority of trauma-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries; however, limited data exists in these settings related to injury types and severity. The prevalence of trauma similar to our setting was less estimated. This study aimed to find the prevalence of traumatic injury among patients presented to the department of emergency medicine of a tertiary care centre.

Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among patients presented to the Department of Emergency Medicine from 15 September 2021 to 14 September 2022. Ethical approval was taken from the Institutional Review Committee. World Health Organization trauma minimum data set, injury mechanism, types and patient disposition data were collected and injury severity scores were calculated. A convenience sampling method was used. The point estimate was calculated at a 95% Confidence Interval.

Results: Among 47,825 patients, 1,524 (3.19%) (3.03-3.34, 95% Confidence Interval) patients presented with a traumatic injury. A total of 967 (63.45%) were males and had a median age of 30 years (Interquartile range: 25). Most injuries were caused by falls 650 (42.65%), followed by road traffic accidents 411 (26.97%). A majority had minor Injury Severity Scores 1280 (83.99%).

Conclusions: The prevalence of traumatic injury among patients presenting to emergency was found to be lower than other studies done in similar settings.

Keywords: emergency care; injuries and wounds; injury severity score; trauma unit.