Statistical evaluation of occupational accidents admitted to emergency department for 5 years

ABSTRACT STATISTICAL EVALUATION OF OCCUPATIONAL ACCIDENTS ADMITTED TO EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT FOR 5 YEARS Objective/Goal: In this study, we aimed to reveal the demographic characteristics, the type of injury, and the outcome status of patients admitted to Çukurova University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine due to occupational accidents. Materials/Methods: Patients over the age of 18 who were admitted to the adult emergency department of Çukurova University Balcalı Hospital between January 2019 and December 2023 due to occupational accidents, who had an accident history indicating that the accident occurred during work or transportation to work, who had a forensic record as an occupational accident in the hospital automation system, whose file information we could access, will be included. Data on the demographic characteristics of the patients will be analyzed through the "Mergen Enlil Hbys system" used by the hospital. The study will be conducted retrospectively. The reason for admission (fall from a height, foreign body electric shock in the eye, heavy object submersion, sharp sharps injury, compression fragmentation injury, hard object fall to the head, traffic accident, toxic substance exposure, amputation, impact injury) and the outcome status in the emergency department (discharge, hospitalization, referral, exitus, unauthorized leaving) will be recorded. Results: Of the 1377 patients included in the study, 89.25% (n=1229) were male and 10.75% (n=148) were female. The mean age was 35.5±10.9 years (min=18, max=71). According to the age groups, the highest number of cases was found to be in the 35-44 age range and 29.9% (n=412) of the patients were in this age group. It was observed that 79.4% (n=1094) of the patients were discharged, 18.7% (n=257) were hospitalized in the ward and 1.9% (n=26) were hospitalized in the intensive care unit, and there were no exits. Among the hospitalized patients, 257 (90.8%) were hospitalized in the ward and 26 (9.2%) in the intensive care unit. Orthopedics and traumatology service was the most common service among the patients hospitalized in the ward and 71.6% (n=184) of the patients were hospitalized in this service. Among the patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit, brain surgery intensive care unit was the most common and 38.5% (n=10) of the patients were admitted. The mean length of hospital stay was 6.64±37.5 hours (min=0.02, max=1058.88). According to the complaints at presentation to the emergency department, the most common complaint was sharps injuries, which accounted for 42% of the patients (n=588). Male patients had higher rates of hospitalization (p=0.002) and significantly lower rates of discharge (p=0.001) compared to female patients. The lower rate of toxic substance inhalation in male patients compared to female patients was statistically significant (p=0.001). The mean age of the patients was higher in hospitalized patients (p=0.031). Conclusion: The fact that a significant proportion of occupational accidents admitted to the emergency department were treated and discharged on an outpatient basis and that life-threatening injuries were rare suggests that these accidents can be prevented by determining the real causes of occupational accidents in the light of the data of our study and by measures that can be taken at the workplace. Keywords: Emergency, Labor loss, Occupational accidents