Epidemiology Orthopedic Injuries Referring to Emergency DepartmentA Cross Sectional Study

One of the common reasons for referral to healthcare centers are orthopedic injuries which may occur due to spontaneous pathologic injuries, traffic accidents, workplace injuries, and during exercise. This study aimed to determine the frequency, types and causes of orthopedic injuries refering to Akhatr teaching hospital in Tehran. In this study, records of all the patients presented to the emergency department of the Akhtar hospital in 2015 were reviewed. Data were collected by random completion of the "damage record questionnaire" by nurses. Data were analyzed using descriptive (frequency, mean and standard deviation) and inferential (Chi-square) statistics to evaluate the incidence rate of injuries and demographic characteristics of the participants and to compare the incidence rate of injuries in various body parts. Most injuries occurred in lower extremities, followed by upper extremities. In addition, there was a significant association between gender and cause of incidents (P<0.03). Moreover, a significant correlation was observed between gender and rate of injury in left (P<0.001) and right (P<0.049) lower extremities and also in the right (P<0.001) and left (P<0.001) upper extremities. Results demonstrated a higher rate of injury among men, compared to women. Furthermore, the ankle was the most commonly injured area in the lower extremities while the wrist was the most common area of injury in upper extremities. According to our results, the main cause of orthopedic injuries in the emergency department was traffic accidents (drivers, car occupants, and pedestrians), and the majority of patients were in the age range of 20- 40 years.