Demographics and Incident Location of Traumatic Injuries at a Single Level I Trauma Center

Traumatic Injury Mapping

Abstract

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.