Ferimentos penetrantes no membro superior: prevalência e etiologia

Abstract

ObjectiveEvaluate the epidemiology, causes, and frequency of penetrating upper extremity injuries from a hand surgery center. MethodsThe study was based on a sample of consecutive patients attended at the Institute of Orthopedics and Traumatology of this institution, from May 2014 to May 2016. Data were collected by telephone contact and a pre‐structured questionnaire about the data and characteristics of the lesions was applied. Descriptive statistics and comparison of proportions with the chi‐squared test was performed. ResultsThe database search retrieved 1,648 records, of which 598 were included in the study after exclusion criteria. Most were male (77.8%), right‐handed (95.82%), with a mean age of 37.27 years. Manual workers were the most injured (50.00%) and fingers were the most affected site (51.84%). Among etiologic agents, glass was the most frequent (33.77%). Prevalence of amputation was higher in machinery injuries (p < 0.05) when compared with other causes. Younger patients (< 18 years) had more glass related injuries while older patients (> 60 years) had more traumas caused by power tools (p < 0.05). Women had more injuries resulting from blades and glass (p < 0.05). Manual workers had a higher frequency of machinery trauma and amputations (p < 0.05). ConclusionThe most frequent etiology was glass, especially in minors (< 18 years). In women and older patients (> 60 years), there was high frequency of traumas caused by blades and power tools, respectively. More severe injuries were caused by machinery and related with work activity.