Urologic Traumas at a Level I Trauma Center in West Virginia: Exploring Injury Patterns

To assess the demographics, clinical presentation, injury characteristics, clinical outcomes, injury mechanism trends and geospatial distribution of urologic traumas among adult patients in West Virginia (WV).

This was a retrospective observational study of urologic trauma injuries at a level 1 trauma center in southern WV between October 2014 and September 2024. The study included admitted urologic trauma patients aged 18 to 89 years. Patients were excluded if the scene of injury was outside WV. Descriptive statistics were reported for all variables. Geospatial analysis of injury locations was conducted to assess spatial patterns in association with rurality.

A total of 354 patients included in the study had a median age of 38.5 years with alcohol/substance use (52.5%) being the predominant comorbidity. The most common injuries involved the kidneys (62.7%), bladder (15.3%), and scrotum (13.8%). The injury mechanisms associated with these injuries included motor vehicle crash, all-terrain vehicle accidents, and firearm injuries. A greater proportion of patients were discharged alive (95.2%), and the majority (66.4%) were discharged to their homes. Penetrating traumas were most prevalent in 2020 and blunt force traumas in 2021. No specific spatial pattern was observed between injury locations and rurality in WV.

Our study highlights the unique trend of urologic injury mechanisms in WV. This information can be utilized to aid in public health interventions and education. It can also be utilized for the optimization of trauma care in rural settings where healthcare resources may be limited.