Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Jan 7:32:9.
doi: 10.11604/pamj.2019.32.9.14550. eCollection 2019.

A descriptive study of trauma cases encountered in the Grand M'Bour Hospital Emergency Department in Senegal

Kenneth John  1 , Farba Faye  2 , Rhonda Belue  3
Affiliations

A descriptive study of trauma cases encountered in the Grand M'Bour Hospital Emergency Department in Senegal

Kenneth John et al. Pan Afr Med J. .

Abstract

Introduction: This study analyzed the trends of trauma cases that presented to the Emergency Department (ED) in the Grand M'Bour Hospital. We examined demographics of patients, mechanisms of trauma and types of injuries that result and times from injury to arrival.

Methods: This was a descriptive study using prospective ED trauma cases. Patients were selected for the study if their chief complaint was related to a traumatic injury. A trauma flow sheet was developed to obtain information. Data was collected from 6/22/16-7/13/16, with 105 cases recorded. Abstracted data included date, time of arrival, time of injury, age, gender, mechanism of injury, injury sustained and disposition.

Results: Patients presented to the ED for 13 different trauma-related reasons. 71% of the patients encountered had a mechanism of injury related to falls or motor vehicle accidents. The majority of patients who suffered from a fall-or motor vehicle-related injury were children, with ages 0-10 representing 31% and ages 11-20 representing 14% of the total patients. While 29% of patients were seen within 1 hour of the time of their injury, 10% of the patients were not seen until days after their injury.

Conclusion: We report that traumatic injuries are most commonly a result of fall-related and vehicle-related accidents. Children under the age of 20 years old are a vulnerable population for traumatic injuries. We observed that many patients were unable to seek care within a day of their injury. This was concerning that proper emergency transportation was not available, leading to potential complications or improper healing of injuries. Knowing these trends, an ED can be better prepared to treat these patients.

Keywords: Senegal; Trauma; epidemiology; mechanisms of injury.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Age distribution of the top 3 mechanisms of injury combined: falls, motor vehicle accidents and pedestrian vehicle accidents
Figure 2
Figure 2
Prehospital transport times
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Gosselin RA, Spiegel DA, Coughlin R, Zirkle LG. Injuries: the neglected burden in developing countries. J Bull World Health Organ. 2009 Apr;87(4):246–246a. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hofman K, Primack A, Keusch G, Hrynkow S. Addressing the growing burden of trauma and injury in low-and middle-income countries. Am J Public Health. 2005 Jan;95(1):13–7. - PMC - PubMed
    1. House DR, Nyabera SL, Yusi K, Rusyniak DE. Descriptive study of an emergency centre in Western Kenya: challenges and opportunities. African Journal of Emergency Medicine. 2014 Mar;4(1):19–24.
    1. Mathers CD, Loncar D. Projections of Global Mortality and Burden of Disease from 2002 to 2030. PLOS Medicine. 2006 Nov 28;3(11):e442. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hsia RY, Mbembati NA, Macfarlane S, Kruk ME. Access to emergency and surgical care in sub-Saharan Africa: the infrastructure gap. Health Policy Plan. 2012 May;27(3):234–44. - PubMed