Prehospital characteristics of trauma patients admitted to an emergency trauma center in Dazu District of Chongqing

  Objective  To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of pre-hospital emergency trauma patients in Dazu District of Chongqing, and to provide basis for rational allocation of hospital first-aid resources and improvement of trauma treatment.

  Methods  The data of pre-hospital trauma cases in an emergency trauma center in Dazu District of Chongqing from 2015 to 2019 were collected and their characteristics were analyzed.

  Results  A total of 20 129 trauma cases were included. Fall injury was the main type of trauma, accounting for 32.32%, followed by traffic injury, accounting for 29.35%. The proportion of male trauma cases(59.73%) was higher than that of female(40.27%). The difference of trauma causes between male and female was statistically significant(P < 0.01). Except for poisoning, the number of male trauma cases was higher than that of female, especially the violent trauma(2.30 times)and non-life mechanical trauma(3.32 times). More than half of the trauma patients were 35-64 years old(10 198 cases, accounting for 50.66%). The fall injury accounted for the largest proportion in the elderly patients over 65 years old or in the younger patients under 14 years old. Among these cases 146 died and the fatality was 0.73%. The fatality among male and female patients was 0.71% and 0.75% respectively. There was no significant change trend in the total number of trauma cases during these 5 years(P > 0.05). The death rates of burns and traffic injuries were 1.11% and 0.93% respectively. There were more trauma patients in autumn and winter, accounting for 26.91% and 25.81% respectively. The number of trauma cases in the afternoon was the most, accounting for 36.21%. Trauma mainly occurred in the head and neck or lower limbs, accounting for 26.36% and 20.92%, respectively. Traffic injuries, falls, mechanical injuries, and burns were common in the head and neck or lower limbs, while violent injuries mainly occurred in the head and neck or trunk.

  Conclusions  Pre-hospital emergency trauma in this district were mainly fall injuries and traffic injuries. The occurrence of trauma was closely related to crowd activities, and had apparent distribution characteristics in different groups, months and time points, which was of significance for optimizing the allocation of first-aid resources and formulating the control measures for trauma.