• Dionysia Vasdeki, Antonia Barmpitsioti, Anna De Leo, and Zoe Dailiana.
• Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Thessaly, Larissa 41500, Greece. Electronic address: d.vasdeki@gmail.com.
• Injury. 2024 Mar 1; 55 (3): 111327111327.

BackgroundHand injuries are common affecting all ages, genders, and geographic regions. They can result in long term disability and mortality, while they place a significant financial burden in society. Although, hand injuries can be prevented. Preventive strategies can be designed, but knowledge of injuries' epidemiological characteristics is required beforehand.MethodsWe performed a review of the current literature related to hand injuries to identify their incidence, patients' demographics, type, mode, and time of the injury.ResultsHand injuries constitute 6.6% to 28.6% of all injuries presenting to the Emergency Department and 28% of injuries to the musculoskeletal system. They mainly affect young male labourers. Occupational and home accidents are the commonest injury modalities, while traffic road accidents constitute a significant reason for hand injuries as well. Lacerations account for most hand injuries, followed by crush injuries, fractures and amputations. Most occupational injuries occur in the beginning of the week and especially during the morning shift, while there has been identified an increase in the number of hand injuries during the summer months.ConclusionsHand injuries are an important health problem with impact on patient's life and on the society. Although they can be prevented. Preventive strategies need to be addressed towards many directions and people's activities, since prevention will have an important impact on people's quality of life and society's well-being.Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

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