Evaluation of hand injuries admitted to emergency department of a tertiary care center: Analysis of 10352 patients

Abstract

Background: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the characteristics of patients who were admitted to the emergency department for a hand injury and to make preventive inferences for hand injuries in terms of public health. Materials and Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 10,352 patients admitted to the emergency department between August 2016 and July 2020. Results: The average age was 28.4. Injuries mostly occurred in the 25–34 age interval (18.7%). Men predominated in the patient group (70.27%), and injuries were almost equally distributed between right and left sides, with fingers being the most frequently affected region. Common etiologies included falling, occupational injury, and home accidents, leading most frequently to fracture/dislocations, skin-nail injuries, and tendon injuries. Amputations comprised 6.3% of the injuries. Complicated injuries mostly occurred in young males and were mostly due to work accidents. Conclusions: Hand injuries can be devastating, and increased individual and social awareness and improved occupational standards are required for prevention (level of evidence: III).