Trends in trauma: a rural experience

In last 20 years a progressive increase in the cases of road traffic accidents is seen in the institution. In this study efforts have been made to study epidemiology of trauma & how to help the trauma victims in a better way. To study the changing trends in incidence & presentation of trauma victims. To recommend preventive measures based on the analysis. The present study was carried out in MGIMS, Sewagram, Wardha from 2001 to 2003. For this study which is retrospective and prospective, a total of 986 cases of surgical trauma were studied. Present study showed that in this rural area accidents account for maximum trauma admissions & major trauma only in 20 %. Out of 986 patients, 78.8 % required repair of wounds, 3.8 % required exploratory laparotomy and 16.3 % had orthopedic interventions. Overall mortality rate was 2.9 %. It was found that general care in wards was good in terms of trauma results of rural areas. These results may vary when compared with specialized trauma centers in cities; however after a period of few years cost effectiveness of trauma centers in terms of benefits needs an assessment*.