Epidemiological profile of polytrauma victims attended in a basic care hospital in the South of Brazil: retrospective cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: In the scope of public health, it is fundamental to comprehend the patterns and characteristics of the patients attended in hospitals for the guidance about prevention and intervention policies. In this perspective, the present study aims to evaluate the epidemiological profile of polytrauma victims who were assisted in a basic care hospital, located in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, during the period of January 1st to December 31th of 2022. The importance of studying the mechanism of trauma lies in the fact that it is the main cause of fatality in the population between 1 and 44 years old and represents a total of 5.8 million deaths annually in Brazil. Methods: The methodology consists of a retrospective cross-sectional study based on the analysis of hospital records, identifying patterns of gender, age, type of injury, modes of damage and outcome of the attended patients. Results: Based on the data collected, it was observed a predominance of the male gender among the polytrauma victims, with a significant incidence of assistance resulting from motor vehicle collisions, corroborating with previous epidemiological evidence. Conclusion: The epidemiological profile of polytraumatized patients is male, aged 41 and victims of traffic accidents. Therefore, urges the need to develop preventive and interventionist measures in relation to the causal factors of polytrauma, such as road infrastructure and alcohol use. In addition, the study was limited by the fact that it did not investigate the use of alcohol by the drivers, and the license status.