A descriptive study of patterns of traumatic hand injury cases in a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Background: All patients who presented to the emergency and trauma with a clinical evidence of hand injury were assessed based on the history and examination, mechanism of injury, common patterns of the injuries, management of the injuries and their functional outcome. The aim and objective were to study the mode, pattern, management and early outcome of hand injury cases attending Department of Emergency Medicine and trauma.Methods: This was a hospital based descriptive study, of patients presenting with hand injuries to the emergency department. The management plan was formulated and the outcomes of the treatment were assessed by limb function loss and Quick DASH 9 score.Results: Majority of our study population belonged to 16 to 35 years age group comprising of mostly males. Most of the incidents occurred within 50 km from our hospital. The mean duration to arrival at our hospital from site of injury was 2.71±2.61 hours. Road traffic accident in males and thermal burns in females were common. Fractures to phalanges of index and middle fingers were the most common type of injury. The average calculated Quick DASH 9 score was found to be 51.24±9.89.Conclusions: Hand injuries were found to be more prevalent in lower socioeconomic strata of the society with education status and occupation as major risk factors. Increased awareness and better implementation of traffic rules and better safety measures at workplace environment are the need of the hour to decrease the burden of hand injury.