Trauma care in Brazil: a comparative study of patient characteristics at public versus private hospitals

Trauma remains a leading cause of hospital admissions worldwide, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Brazil's dual healthcare system reflects disparities in resource availability and clinical outcomes. This study compared epidemiological profiles of trauma patients treated at a public versus a private hospital in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

We retrospectively analyzed 6,472 trauma-related hospitalizations from August 2021 to August 2023. Data were extracted from Hospital Information System/Department of Informatics of the Unified Health System and a private hospital database. Patients admitted under the 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases, categories S00-T88, were included, excluding burns and orthopedic injuries. A χ2 test assessed associations between trauma mechanisms and hospitals.

Among the 6,472 cases, 6,342 occurred in the public hospital and 130 in the private hospital. In the public hospital, males accounted for 82.1% of the cases, and the leading causes were motorcycle crashes (21.7%) and gunshot wounds (16.2%). At the private hospital 58.4% of patients were males, with falls (50.8%) predominating among older adults. Violence-related injuries predominated in the public hospital, while falls predominated in the private hospital.

This study revealed distinct trauma patterns in the public versus the private hospital in one Brazilian city. The public hospital treated younger male victims of violence, while the private hospital treated older patients with falls. These findings underscore the need for policies addressing trauma care disparities.