Trauma registry in Tikur Anbessa Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

A simplified trauma registry was tested in Tikur anbessa hospital, with the aim of obtaining preliminary data on the patterns and magnitude of injuries and establishing the basis towards surveillance system. All injured patients presented to the surgical and pediatric emergency department between January 1, 1999 and June 31, 1999 were included. Interns completed the registry forms, which include demographic, injury event specific, severity and outcome data. The severity was assessed by new scoring system, Kampla Trauma Score (KTS). Among the 3822 injured patients 2869(75%) were males and 953(25%) were females and 80% were below the age of 40 years. 77% of the injuries were unintentional and motor vehicle injuries accounted for 41% of all causes among which 93% of them were pedestrians. Accidental fall and interpersonal assault accounted for 21% and 20% respectively. Admitted cases were 11.6%, while 20 (.5%) died at the outpatient department with the overall mortality of 1.47%. Though burn and gunshot accounted only for 6%, the case fatality rate was highest (4%) accounting for 20% of all deaths. The magnitude of fatal injuries is underestimated and the pattern of injuries may only reflect the situation in the big cities. Motor vehicle injuries, especially pedestrian injuries are serious problem in Addis as seen in patients in Tikur Anbessa hospital and require further situational studies and urgent intervention. Establishing hospital based simplified injury surveillance system is possible in Ethiopia and it is essential to asses the magnitude of the problem and identify priority area for injury prevention and control.