Still in Plight: Traumatic Injuries and Their Acute Health Effects in Karachi, Pakistan

Abstract

Introduction Traumatic injuries are a leading cause of mortality and morbidity, with significant social and economic impacts. Karachi, Pakistan, a densely populated city with a high incidence of traumatic injuries, faces inadequacies in its trauma-care setup, including a lack of resources and unorganized care, which highlights the need for improved trauma management strategies and trauma registries. The purpose of this research is to present a fundamental profile of traumatic injuries in terms of their health-related consequences in Karachi, Pakistan. The objective is to identify the nature, affected body parts, and severity of traumatic injuries to identify areas for effective safety measures and reduce morbidity and mortality. Methodology This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC) in Karachi, Pakistan, from June to August 2021. The study included trauma patients over the age of 18 who presented at the accident and emergency department (ED) of JPMC during the study period. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire, and statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics. The study aimed to identify the demographic and clinical characteristics of trauma patients presenting to the ED. Results This study of 363 trauma patients found road traffic injuries (62.4%) as the most common mechanism of injury, with extremities (48.5%) being the most affected body part. The majority of trauma victims did not receive prehospital care (65.3%), highlighting a need for improved emergency response systems and public awareness. Open wounds (41.0%) were the most common nature of injury, with falls being the leading mechanism of fractures. The severity of injuries was mostly moderate (48.2%). Conclusion This study highlighted the need for targeted prevention strategies to reduce the health-related burden on the population of Karachi, Pakistan. Future research should focus on longitudinally monitoring all injured patients to identify high-risk populations, injury patterns, and preventative outcomes.

Keywords: emergency department; injury severity; nature of injury; road traffic accidents; traumatic injuries.

Figure 1. Pie-chart for the parts of the body most affected by traumatic injuries

Figure 2. Pie-chart for nature of traumatic injuries

Figure 3. Pie-chart for the severity of the traumatic injuries