• Bruce M Potenza, David B Hoyt, Raul Coimbra, Dale Fortlage, Troy Holbrook, Peggy Hollingsworth-Fridlund, and Trauma Research and Education Foundation.
• Department of Surgery, University of California, San Diego, 92103-8896, USA. bpotenza@ucsd.edu
• J Trauma. 2004 Jan 1; 56 (1): 68-75.

BackgroundAnalysis of the mechanism and severity of injury over time may permit a more focused planning of acute care and trauma prevention programs.MethodsA retrospective, population-based study examining severe traumatic injury in a single county was undertaken. Three overlapping data sets were used to form a composite injury data set.ResultsThere were 55,664 patients included in the study. A total of 40,897 (73.5%) patients survived and 14,767 (26.5%) died. Of those patients who died, 8,910 (60.3%) died in the field and were not transported to a trauma center. There was an increase in the mean age of all trauma victims (3 years) and an increase of 5 years in fatally injured patients. The mean Injury Severity Score decreased from 14.7 to 11.6 (p < 0.01); however, Injury Severity Score for fatal patients remained constant (39.7). The overall injury rate remained unchanged (195 per 10(5)), whereas the fatal injury rate decreased by 22% (45.9 per 10(5)) over the 11-year study period. The leading cause of injury was motor vehicle crash, followed by assault. The leading cause of fatal injury was suicide, followed by homicide.ConclusionA combination of three independent injury data sources generated a composite data set of serious and fatal injury. This regional injury analysis was the most comprehensive overview of injury in our region. Important observations included the following: there has been no change in the overall incidence of severe injury within our county; the incidence of fatal traumatic injury has significantly decreased; the leading causes of nonfatal injury do not correlate with the rank order of fatal injury; intentional injury was the leading cause of injury deaths; and scene fatalities represent a poorly studied group of patients who may benefit from primary prevention and injury control research.

27 keywords...

hide…