Abstract

BackgroundBomb blast injuries result in premature deaths and burdening of healthcare systems. The objective of this study was to explore the characteristics and outcome of patients presenting to the emergency departments in Pakistan with bomb blast injuries.MethodsActive surveillance was conducted in seven major emergency departments of Pakistan from November 2010-March 2011. All the sites are tertiary care urban centers. All the patients who presented to the hospital's emergency department (ED) following a bomb blast injury as per self-report or the ambulance personnel were included in the study. Frequency of demographics, injury pattern, and outcomes were calculated.ResultsA total of 103 patients with bomb blast injuries presented to the selected emergency departments. The median age of patients was 30 years. Around three-fourth of the patients were males (n = 74, 74.7%). Most of the bomb blast patients were seen in Peshawar (n = 41, 39.8%) and Karachi city (n = 31, 30.1%) and the most common mode of arrival was non-ambulance transport (n = 71, 76.3%). Upper limb injuries (n = 12, 40%) were common in the under 18 age group and lower limb injuries (n = 31, 39.2%) in the 18 years and above group. There were a total of 8 (7.7%) deaths reported out of these 103 patients.ConclusionBomb blast injuries in Pakistan generally affect young males. Non-ambulance transport is the most common way to access emergency departments (ED). Overall ED mortality is high and capturing data during a disaster in an emergency department is challenging.

Highlights

  • Bomb blast injuries result in premature deaths and burdening of healthcare systems

  • Blast injuries lead to premature deaths but consume more health care resources as compared to other injuries because they present in masses [7,11]

  • Pakistan National Emergency Departments Surveillance (Pak-NEDS) was a pilot active surveillance conducted in seven major emergency departments of Pakistan: Aga Khan University (AKU) and Jinnah Post-graduate Medical Center in Karachi; Benazir Bhutto Hospital in Rawalpindi; Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar; Mayo Hospital in Lahore; Civil Hospital in Quetta; and Shifa International Hospital (SIH) in Islamabad

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Summary

Introduction

Bomb blast injuries result in premature deaths and burdening of healthcare systems. The objective of this study was to explore the characteristics and outcome of patients presenting to the emergency departments in Pakistan with bomb blast injuries. For each death due to violence, there are dozens of hospitalizations, hundreds of emergency department visits, and thousands of outpatient visits [3]. Bomb blasts receive a high degree of public attention because of their significant effects on health in terms of death, illness, disability, and mental illness [1]. Blast injuries lead to premature deaths but consume more health care resources as compared to other injuries because they present in masses [7,11]. Youths are most affected with more severe injuries involving multiple body organs and systems [11,12]

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