Demographic and clinical characteristics of traumatic shoulder dislocations in an urban city of Turkey: a retrospective analysis of 208 cases

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the demographic and clinical characteristics of traumatic shoulder dislocations in an urban city of Turkey.

Methods: The digital patient database was reviewed to identify all patients with glenohumeral dislocation of the shoulder admitted to the emergency departments of the two hospitals in Diyarbakır between January 2008 and December 2010. Incidence, demographics, clinical characteristics, recurrence, associated injuries, and mechanism of injury were evaluated.

Results: Two hundred and eight patients (163 male, 45 female; mean age: 37.2±21.3) experienced traumatic shoulder dislocation during the study period. The overall incidence of primary shoulder dislocations was 5.3 per 100,000 person-years. Age distribution peaked between 21 and 30 years (96.5% male) and between 61 and 70 years (66.7% female). Primary shoulder dislocation occurred in 172 patients (82.7%) and recurrent dislocations in 36 (17.3%). Patients with recurrent shoulder dislocations were younger than those with primary dislocations (mean age, 29.7±14.5 and 38.8±22.2, respectively; p=0.020). There were 195 (93.4%) anterior dislocations. The mechanism of injury was falls in 155 (74.5%) cases. Reduction was achieved in 165 patients (79.3%) in the emergency department. General anesthesia was used for 43 patients (20.7%).

Conclusion: The 5.3 per 100,000 person-years incidence of traumatic shoulder dislocations in Turkey was much lower than previous studies. Demographic characteristics also showed various differences closely related to the population pyramid.