Retrospective analysis of patients under the age of 18 who presented to the emergency department due to blunt and penetrati̇ng trauma

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the demographic and clinical characteristics of blunt and penetrating trauma patients under the age of 18 who were evaluated in the emergency department of a university hospital, and to determine the parameters associated with the clinical outcome. Methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, cases who applied to Bursa Uludağ University Faculty of Medicine Emergency Department between December 2020 and November 2021 due to trauma were included. The admission and clinical outcome characteristics of the cases were recorded by scanning the hospital records and appropriate analyzes were performed. Results: 70.4% of the 341 cases evaluated in the study were male and the mean age was 8.29 ± 5.48 years. The mean GCS of the cases was found to be 14.78 ± 1.46. While the most common causes of trauma were falling from a height (33.4%), stab wounds (16.5%) and crushing (14.1%), the regions with injuries were the extremities (57.8%), the head (18.1%). .5), thorax (7.6%), abdomen (6.5%), maxillofacial (5.6%), pelvis (3.5%), and vertebra (2.9%). While 37.2% of the cases were discharged, 5.9% were admitted to the ICU and 0.6% died. Ambulance transport to the emergency department, hypotension and presence of abdominal trauma were found to be independent risk factors for poor prognosis. Conclusion: Among the cases under the age of 18 who applied to the emergency department, the clinic of cases with hypotension and abdominal injury may be more serious. Following these cases more carefully, taking advanced precautions and providing appropriate treatment in the early period may be among the interventions that can reduce mortality and morbidity. Keywords: Emergency department, abdominal trauma, hypotension