Abstract
To determine the magnitude, socio-demographic and epidemiological characteristics of injury at a Provincial referral hospital. This review was conducted on all trauma patients admitted at the Mthatha Hospital Complex and Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital from the 1(st) January 1997 to the 31(st) December 2000. The incident rate of injuries was 3.2% (n=2460/75,833 total admissions). Injured patients were mostly black (80%) and males (ratio: 5 men: 1 woman). Only 8.1% of injured patients were transported to hospital by ambulances. The leading causes of injuries were inter-personal violence accounting for 60% of cases, and motor vehicle accidents accounting for 19%; of them 38% were due to poor visibility, over speeding, and fatigue. The overall mortality was 33% (n=821) independently predicted by poverty (OR=8.2 95%CI 6-11.1; P<0.0001) and age>40 years(OR=7.8 95%CI 7.7-12.1;P<0.0001). The burden of injury is a mass issue that warrants regional attention with quality of care and training.
Highlights
It is well established that injury is an important public health problem and will be a serious threat to future generations worldwide[1,2,3,4,5]
In developing countries including South Africa, there is a high burden of injuries due to road-traffic accidents, excessive alcohol intake, substance abuse and interpersonal violence, with this latter problem being increasingly seen as a public health priority
Incidence of Injury Out of a total of 75833 patients admitted to the Accident and Emergency Units, 3.2% (n=2460) or 32 per 1000 persons defined the incidence rate of injuries between 1997 and 2000
Summary
It is well established that injury is an important public health problem and will be a serious threat to future generations worldwide[1,2,3,4,5]. In developing countries including South Africa, there is a high burden of injuries due to road-traffic accidents, excessive alcohol intake, substance abuse and interpersonal violence, with this latter problem being increasingly seen as a public health priority. Funding and research to deal with this burden is lacking in comparison to allocations for malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS6. About 50% of all admissions in the departments of surgery are due to injuries (trauma, homicide, suicide, transport accidents) contributing substantially to the injuries burden for those in poor and disadvantaged settings. In South Africa[7] and in Eastern Cape, the poorest. The objective of this study was to determine the magnitude and the sociodemographic and epidemiological characteristics of injury
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