HMC receives 6,000 injury cases yearly

LANI ROSE R DIZON

DOHA ABOUT 6,000 serious injuries are admitted in the Trauma Center at Hamad General Hospital every year with orthopaedic injuries accounting for a majority of the cases, an official of Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) said on Tuesday.

Addressing a press conference on the sidelines of the 1st Qatar Surgical Society Symposium and 3rd Advanced Trauma Life Support Conference for MENA hosted by the HMC, Dr Hassan al Thani, head of trauma, vascular and general surgery at HMCTrauma Centre, said that around 4,000 of the total number of cases received at the centre were of orthopaedic injuries such as broken bones, which are usually suffered in motor vehicle collisions.

Also, around 2,000 (onethird) of the trauma and injured patients are admitted for definitive care, while between 15 and 20 percent of the patients require surgeries.

According to statistics made available by HMC, the number of motor vehicle collision injuries treated at HMC increased from 541 (31 percent) in 2011 to 622 (34 percent) in 2012. The second most common type of injury, fall (from heights) recorded a decrease in the number from 540 (31 percent) in 2011 to 506 (28 percent) in 2012.

Pedestrian injuries also increased from 210 (12 percent) in 2011 to 227 (12 percent) in 2012. Other injuries including explosions, GSW, sports, diving, and self-inflicted injuries decreased from 114 (6 percent) cases admitted in 2011 to 94 (5 percent) in 2012, while the number of patients struck by heavy objects increased from 96 (5 percent) in 2011 to 138 (8 percent) last year. There were also 25 patients admitted to the centre last year due to injuries caused by machineries.

Meanwhile, a significant decrease was recorded in the number of injuries admitted to the centre due to burnsfrom 82 (5 percent) in 2011 to 31 (2 percent) in 2012. All- Terrain Vehicle (ATV) injuries increased from 57 (3 percent) in 2011 to 68 (4 percent) in 2012, while bike injuries decreased from 33 (2 percent) in 2011 to 25 (1 percent) in 2012.

There were 31 cases (2 percent) of assault injuries admitted to the centre last year compared to the 38 (2 percent) such cases in 2011. Stab injuries recorded at the centre were 27 in 2011 and 27 last year, while injuries caused by motorcycle collisions increased from 20 cases (1 percent) in 2011 to 31 (2 percent) in 2012.

The records, however, state that most of the patients treated at the centre last year were males (1,654), and only 171 patients were females. Qataris (355 cases) constitute the majority of the patients, followed by 290 from Nepal, and 268 expatriates from India, among others.

Highlighting the need to prevent the injuries, Prof Subash Gautam, chairman of the Advanced Trauma Life Support MENA chapter, said, “Trauma is one of the most preventable causes of deaths. This is a common problem in the MENA region. We have more people dying from trauma. The number of long-term disability is double the number of deaths from trauma and injuries.

Everybody can contribute towards reducing these injuries by following safety measures such as putting seatbelts on and wearing proper helmets”.

The HMC Trauma Centre, which is preparing for Level 1 Trauma Centre verification by the American College of Surgeon’s Committee on Trauma, is planning to have a state-wide trauma system with a well-distributed state-wide structure of acute care hospitals and other facilities as members of a system which is envisioned to become a model for all trauma centres across the Middle East and beyond.