Hand injuries: incidence and epidemiology in an emergency service

During a four-month period, 1,164 patients presented to the surgical section of our Emergency Services (ES) with chief complaints involving the hand. Patient records were analyzed for several variables including demographics, diagnosis and therapeutic procedures. Lacerations were the most frequent injury, 61.5% (n=716) with deep structure injuries present in 6.1% (n=44). Of deep structure injuries, 36.4% were tendon lacerations, 27.2% were nerve injuries, and 36.4% were compound fractures. "Bites" accounted for 5.2% (37) of all lacerations, eight of which were human bites. Fractures were the second most frequent injury, (11.4%) and involved 143 separate bones. Infections were present in 7%; over half were paronychias. There were 42 (3.6%) thermal injuries.