Research

We need to target trauma: A prospective observational study in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

K Clark, A Rao, V Chen, P Mda, F Piek, J Irudeo, R Maharaj, L Wallis, T Quinn, B Hansoti

Abstract


Background. Emergency medicine accounts for a large proportion of medical care in many low- and middle-income countries. A better understanding of the burden of disease will guide training and resource allocation priorities, but lack of electronic medical records and standardised data collection systems makes it difficult to obtain this information.

Objectives. To draw attention to the proportionally large burden of trauma in emergency centres (ECs) throughout Eastern Cape Province, South Africa (SA), in the hope of influencing resource allocation and medical provider training protocols accordingly.

Methods. A secondary data analysis was performed from information gathered in HIV testing studies in two large tertiary care centres and one regional hospital in the Eastern Cape region of SA. All patients presenting to the ECs during the 6-week study period who met the inclusion criteria were approached and requested to provide consent for point-of-care HIV testing and collection of demographic information. Information collected included patient demographics, presenting complaints and final diagnoses. Simple descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data.

Results. Data were collected from 4 271 patients across three study sites: Frere Hospital (n=2 391), Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital (n=622) and Mthatha Regional Hospital (n=1 258). At the two tertiary care centres, most patients were between the ages of 18 and 30 years (41.2% and 32.6%, respectively) and male (57.8% and 60.2%), and 70.4% and 41.5% had traumatic injuries. The most common complaints were stab/gunshot wounds (18.3% and 20.2%). At the district hospital, the majority of patients were female (57.2%), 40.1% were between 18 and 30 years old, and 27.3% presented with traumatic injuries. Stab/gunshot wounds were the second most common complaint (7.2%) after lower respiratory tract infections (8.7%).

Conclusions. From the proportion of presenting individuals sampled, we can conclude that a large proportion of care delivered in ECs in the Eastern Cape is for trauma. Local clinical capacitation efforts must focus on trauma training.

 


Authors' affiliations

K Clark, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md, USA

A Rao, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Md, USA

V Chen, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md, USA

P Mda, Nelson Mandela Academic Clinical Research Unit, Mthatha, Eastern Cape, South Africa

F Piek, Department of Emergency Medicine, Frere Hospital, East London, South Africa

J Irudeo, Department of Family Medicine, Mthatha Regional Hospital, Mthatha, South Africa

R Maharaj, Department of Emergency Medicine, Livingstone Hospital, Port Elizabeth, South Africa

L Wallis, Division of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa

T Quinn, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md, USA; Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md, USA

B Hansoti, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Md, USA; Department of Emergency Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md, USA

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Keywords

Trauma; Emergency medicine; HIV; Eastern Cape; South Africa

Cite this article

South African Medical Journal 2020;110(1):38-43. DOI:10.7196/SAMJ.2019.v110i1.13886

Article History

Date submitted: 2019-12-12
Date published: 2019-12-12

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