• J O K Ogendi and J G Ayisi.
• School of Public Health & Community Development, Maseno University, Kisumu, Kenya.
• Afr Health Sci. 2011 Jun 1; 11 (2): 255261255-61.

BackgroundThere is increasing importance of trauma not only as a major cause of surgical admissions, but also a significant cause of morbidity, mortality and disability.ObjectiveTo document injury-related visits and hospitalization in a provincial hospital, western Kenya.MethodsOn-site review of records of all patients who visited emergency department (ED) from January 2002 through December 2003, and admissions of year 2003.ResultsA total of 15365 patients visited the ED, of which 41% (6319/15395) were injury cases. The leading causes of injury were assault (42%), road traffic crashes (RTC) (28%), unspecified soft tissue injury (STI) (11%). Cut-wounds, dog-bites, falls, burns and poisoning were infrequently reported (each <10%). The age group 15-44 years formed the largest proportion (75%). A total of 3253 patients were admitted in 2003, of which 1010 (31%) were due to injuries. RTC were leading cause of hospitalization (49%) followed by assault (16%). Men were more likely to be hospitalized due to assault (OR=2.22; CI = 1.45 - 3.41) and not burns or poisoning (p<0.01). There were 64 (6.3%) injury-related deaths, mainly resulting from RTC (41.9%), burns (19.4%) and assault (16.1%).ConclusionsThis study provides considerable information on major causes of injuries, useful for epidemiological surveillance and injury prevention campaigns.

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