Hand injuries as an indicator of other associated severe injuries

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the incidence of disabling or life-threatening injuries in patients with hand injuries. Retrospective data were collected from a level 1 trauma center registry. A total of 472 patients with hand injuries were admitted to the trauma unit between January 2000 and March 2004. Forty-four per cent of patients with hand injuries had life-threatening injuries. Fifty-one per cent of them had motor vehicle crash-related injuries. Motor-cycle crashes were the next most common cause followed by explosions, falls, gunshots, machinery, stabs, bites, crushes, and so on. Frequency of associated injuries was as follows: head injuries, 31 per cent, including skull fractures, 22 per cent; spine injuries, 18 per cent, including spine fractures 18 per cent; chest injuries, 36 per cent, including rib fractures, 15 per cent; and abdominal injuries, 13 per cent. The authors focused on the incidence of disabling or life-threatening injuries in patients with hand injuries. Motor vehicle crashes were most common cause of hand injuries. The most common organs to be injured were chest and head. The most common head injury was skull fracture. Other injuries in decreasing order were spine and rib fractures. These data may be helpful in assessing ambulatory patients in the emergency room, in those hand injuries maybe indicative of other simultaneous life-threatening or disabling injuries.