Table 2.
Characteristics of injured patients presenting to emergency units (ER) of select Ghanaian district and regional hospitals (N = 1006)
| N | (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Sex | ||
| Male | 733 | (73) |
| Female | 265 | (26) |
| Missing | 8 | (1) |
| Age, Mean (Range), Years | 28 | (0.25 – 105) |
| Mechanism of injury | ||
| Road Traffic Injury | 636 | (63) |
| Penetrating | 119 | (12) |
| Penetrating – unintentional | 78 | (8) |
| Penetrating – intentional / stab | 40 | (4) |
| Penetrating – missing | 1 | (0.1) |
| Falls | 85 | (9) |
| Other blunt | 52 | (5) |
| Bites | 51 | (5) |
| Gunshota | 12 | (1) |
| Fire/Heat | 20 | (2) |
| Hanging/Choking | 5 | (0.5) |
| Other penetrating | 4 | (0.4) |
| Unknown/Missing | 8 | (0.8) |
| Other | 18 | (2) |
| Intent | ||
| Unintentional | 898 | (89) |
| Assault | 87 | (9) |
| Self-harm | 12 | (1) |
| Unknown/Missing | 9 | (0.9) |
| Role in RTI (n=636) | ||
| Driver of vehicle | 55 | (9) |
| Passenger in vehicle | 206 | (32) |
| Pedestrian | 133 | (21) |
| Motorcycle rider | 200 | (31) |
| Bicycle rider | 8 | (1) |
| Motorking tricycleb | 15 | (2) |
| Pragya tricyclec | 18 | (3) |
| Unknown | 1 | (0.2) |
| Injury type d | ||
| Laceration | 535 | (53) |
| Fracture | 182 | (18) |
| Bruise/Superficial injury | 141 | (14) |
| Bites | 46 | (5) |
| Sprain/Dislocation | 37 | (4) |
| Burns | 23 | (2) |
| Pneumothorax/Hemothorax | 3 | (0.3) |
| Hemoperitoneum | 4 | (0.4) |
| Other | 109 | (11) |
| Missing | 36 | (4) |
| Consciousness level at ER arrival | ||
| Alert | 802 | (80) |
| Responds to verbal stimuli | 5 | (0.5) |
| Responds to pain stimuli | 95 | (9) |
| Unresponsive | 30 | (3) |
| Missing | 74 | (7) |
| ER outcome | ||
| Discharged home | 632 | (63) |
| Referred | 79 | (8) |
| Died | 10 | (0.9) |
| Admitted | 285 | (28) |
| Discharged home | 241 | (85) |
| Referred | 30 | (11) |
| Died | 14 | (5) |
| Length of ER stay, hours | ||
| ≤1 | 241 | (24) |
| 1–4 | 535 | (53) |
| 4–12 | 157 | (16) |
| >12 | 73 | (7) |
| Length of overall hospital stay, hours | ||
| <24 | 798 | (79) |
| ≥24 | 208 | (21) |
| Seriously injured (Referred, died, or length of overall hospital stay ≥24 hr) | 308 | (31) |
a
Only one gunshot injury was intentional
b
Motorized tricycle with a bucket for transporting goods and supplies
c
India-made tricycle for passenger transport
d
Multiple injuries possible for a given patient, so total is greater than 1,006. Percentages based on denominator of 1,006.