Introduction: Traumatic injuries are preventable and understanding determinants of injury, such as socio-economic and environmental factors, is vital. This study evaluated traumatic injuries and identified areas of high trauma incidence.
Methods: A retrospective review was conducted of all patients 14 years or older who were admitted with a traumatic injury to a Level I trauma center between 2016 and 2017. Descriptive analyses were presented and maps of high injury areas were generated.
Results: The most frequent mechanisms of injury were falls (58.3%), motor vehicle crashes (22.3%), and motorcycle crashes (5.7%). Fall patients were more likely to be female (59.6%) and were the oldest age group (72.1 ± 17.2) compared to motor vehicle and motorcycle crash patients. Severe head (22.1%, P = 0.007) and extremity (35.7%, P = 0.001) injuries were most frequent among fall patients, however more motorcycle crash patients required mechanical ventilation (16.1%, P < 0.001) and experienced the longest intensive care unit length of stay (5.3 ± 6.8, P < 0.001) and mechanical ventilation days (6.6 ± 8.5, P < 0.036). Motorcycle crash patients also had the most number of deaths (7.5%, P < 0.001). The generated maps of all traumatic suggest that most injuries occur near our hospital and are located in several of the most population-dense zip codes.
Conclusions: Falls, motor vehicle crashes, and motorcycle crashes were the most common mechanisms of injury. The use of Geographic Information System aided in the identification of high injury incidence location.
Demographics and Incident Location of Traumatic Injuries at a Single Level I Trauma Center