Revista Facultad Nacional de Salud Pública (Nov 2010)
Demographic and clinical profile of trauma patients: a fourth-level institution, Medellín, 2005-2008
Abstract
Objective: to describe the demographic and clinical behavior of trauma inpatients admitted in an institution of fourth level of complexity between 2005 and 2008. Methodology: descriptive and retrospective study based on information from patients admitted to the emergency room and to stay hospitalized. Frequencies and percentages for both demographic and clinical variables were estimated. Finally, a simple random sampling was conducted to estimate the trauma and injury severity score (triss). Results: during this period a total amount of 165736 inpatients were admitted; 57382 of them were admitted for trauma (35% of the total). The male gender and the 20-29 years of age groups were the most affected by trauma. The predominant cause of admission was traffic accidents followed by other types of accidents (falls, burns, drowning). 6721 patients were hospitalized, 278 of which died while the general mortality rate was 4,1. The most affected body part in those patients was the body limbs (42%) and trauma to the head and neck (19%). In order to estimate the triss, a total amount of 347 patients we analyzed. The estimated triss scored more than 49 for 3,17% of the patients studied, the average was 7,507 rts, the systolic blood pressure and the respiratory rate showed an average of 121,948 mmHg and 18,659 minutes respectively, and according to the Glasgow coma scale, 30 patients scored less than or equal to 8. The total amount of expected deaths was 17 patients and the total amount of observed deaths was 19. Finally, the triss calculated was 1.097. Conclusion: the iss becomes a good indicator of the severity of trauma patients. It was feasible to estimate the triss by using the rts and age. The mortality slightly observed turned out to be higher than expected indicating that the quality of care provided to trauma patients in this institution of the fourth level can be maintained or improved inasmuch as there were approximately two deaths more than expected.
