Epidemiology of Open Limb Fractures in a Country with Low-Income

Introduction: Open limb fractures are frequent and severe. Very often they result from high velocity traffic accidents. The aim of this study was to identify the epidemiologic aspects of open limb fractures in order to improve prevention and care. Material and Methods: It was a retrospective study carried out in the Department of Orthopaedic and traumatology Surgery of Afagnan hospital. It concerned the files of patients admitted from January 1 to December 31 2016. Patients of 15 years old and older who presented open limb fractures were included in the study. The study variables were: age, sex, occupation, trauma aetiology, injury mechanism, location and type of lesions. An X-ray (antero-posterior and lateral view) of the injured limb segment was done in all patients. Results: On 87 patients, 148 cases of fractures were collected. The mean age was 38.08 years with extremes of 15 and 82. There were 23 women (26.4%) and 64 men (73.6%). The most common etiology was traffic accidents (73.5%). Motorcycle accidents (58.3%); accidents involving motorcycle and car (19.4%). Accidents at work represented (16.1%). Lower limbs were more affected (77.1%). Open fractures classified Gustillo-Anderson type III were predominant with type IIIa (51.0%), IIIb (32.6%) and IIIc (16.3%). Conclusion: Open limb fractures are severe. They are mainly due to the increase of high-velocity traffic accidents. This explains the predominance of the young male population. Road safety and all actors’ behaviour change are essential for the reduction of traffic accident morbidity.