Epidemiology of open limb fractures attended by ambulance clinicians in the out-of-hospital setting: A retrospective analysis

Background

Open limb fractures are a time-critical orthopaedic emergency that present to jurisdictional ambulance services. This study describes the demographic characteristics and epidemiological profile of these patients

Methods

We undertook a retrospective analysis of all patients that presented to Queensland Ambulance Service with an open limb fracture (fracture to the humerus, radius/ulna, tibia/fibula or femur) over a two-year period (January 2018 – December 2019).

Results

Overall, 1020 patients were included. Patients were mainly male (65.9%) and middle-aged (age 41 years, IQR 22–59). Fractures predominately occurred in the lower extremities (64.9%) with transport crashes the primary mechanism of injury (47.8%). The location of the fracture varied depending on the cause of injury, with femur fractures associated with motorcycle crashes, and fractures to the radius/ulna attributed to falls of greater than one metre (p = 0.001). The median prehospital episode of care was 83 min (IQR 62–144) with aeromedical air ambulance involvement and the attendance of a critical care paramedic or emergency physician, both independent factors that increased this time interval.

Conclusion

Open limb fractures are a relatively infrequent injury presentation encountered by ambulance clinicians. The characteristics of these patients is consistent with previously described national and international out-of-hospital trauma cohorts