Trauma patterns in patients attending the Emergency Department of Jazan General Hospital, Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND Modern civilization and the sharp rise in living standards have led to dramatic changes in trauma pattern in Saudi Arabia. This study aimed to describe the different patterns of injuries of patients attending the Emergency Department of Jazan General Hospital (JGH) in the southwest corner of Saudi Arabia. METHODS A total number of 1 050 patients were enrolled in the study. A pre-organized data sheet was prepared for each patient attended the Emergency Department of JGH from February 2012 to January 2013. It contains data about socio-demographics, trauma data, clinical evaluation results, investigations as well as treatment strategies. RESULTS The mean age of the patients was 25.3±16.8 years. Most (45.1%) of the patients were at age of 18-30 years. Males (64.3%) were affected by trauma more common than females. More than half (60.6%) of the patients were from urban areas. The commonest kind of injury was minor injury (60%), followed by blunt trauma (30.9%) and then penetrating trauma (9.1%). The mean time from the incident to arrival at hospital was 41.3±79.8 minutes. The majority (48.2%) of the patients were discharged after management of trivial trauma, whereas 2.3% were admitted to ICU, 7.7% transferred to inpatient wards, and 17.7% observed and subsequently discharged. The mortality rate of the patients was 2.6%. CONCLUSION Trauma is a major health problem, especially in the young population in Saudi Arabia. Blunt trauma is more frequent than penetrating trauma, with road traffic accidents accounting for the majority.