Characteristics of trauma patients admitting to A tertiary medical center university hospital emergency service: One-year cross-sectional analysis

Introduction and Aim: Trauma represents as an important cause of morbidity and mortality all over the world. Trauma patients constitute a significant portion of emergency service admissions. Therefore, trauma patients account for a significant part of the health expenses of countries. Revealing and intercepting the preventable causes of trauma, increasing the quality of patient care, will significantly affect the quality of the life of patients. The aim of this study is to determine the characteristics of trauma patients admitted to the emergency department and to evaluate the effects of the pathologies on patient mortality. Materials and Method: In this study; 14423 trauma patients admitted to Akdeniz University Hospital Emergency Service between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2019 were retrospectively evaluated using the hospital information management system. SPSS and MEDCALC programs were used in the analysis of the data obtained. Findings: Of the 14423 patients included in our study, 8948 (62%) were men and 5475 (38%) were women. The mean age of the patients was 29,01, and the median age was found to be 24. In 2168 (15%) patients head trauma, in 203 (1,4%) spinal trauma, in 698 (4,7%) thoracic trauma, in 288 (1,9%) abdominal trauma, in 4607 (29,2%) extremity trauma related pathology was found. Of the patients included in the study, 12630 (87,6%) were discharged from the emergency department, 1747 (12,1%) were hospitalized, 16 (0,1%) died in the emergency department, 30 (0,2%) transferred to another hospital. 940 of 1747 patients who were hospitalized were operated at least once during their hospitalization stage. 43 of the hospitalized patients died after their hospitalization. When the effects of the pathologies of the patients included in the study on mortality were evaluated; The presence of scalp lacerations, ventricular hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage, spinal fracture, rib fracture, lung contusion, and the presence of intraabdominal free fluid were found to be statistically associated with mortality. Conclusion: Knowing the epidemiological characteristics, existing traumas and trauma mechanisms of trauma patients, who constitute a significant part of emergency service admissions, will greatly guide the prediction of morbidity and mortality that may cause patients. More comprehensive, multi-center studies will significantly improve the quality of patient care.