Pattern of hand injuries reported in a tertiary care setting of North India

Abstract

Background: Hand injuries are very common in this industrialized world. Significant number of patients report every day to the emergency department with various patterns of hand injuries. It is important to understand these patterns in order to plan proper management and develop safety protocols aimed at preventing these injuries.Methods: The present cross sectional study was conducted among 150 patients presenting with Open hand injuries, in the OPD and emergency of Post Graduate Department of Orthopaedics, Government Medical College, Jammu over a period of one year from January 2010 to December 2010.Results: Out of 150 cases 131(87.33%) were males and 19 (12.67%) were females. The commonest age group affected was 21-30 years (34%) followed by 11-20 years (23%). Maximum injuries 90 (60%) occurred in the time interval from 4 pm to midnight. Majority of patients 67 (45%) sustained injury while at work.  Occupation-wise 37 (25%) patients were unskilled workers, mainly laborers, 35 (23%) were farmers, while the remainder belonged to various other professions. In this series machine injuries, assault and road traffic accidents accounted for most injuries, representing 61 (41%), 25 (17%) and 16 (11%) patients respectively. Traumatic amputation (30%) was the most common injury. The index (21%) and middle (21%) fingers were involved more commonly. Tendon injuries (31%) were more frequent than compound fractures (23%).  Conclusions: Hand trauma predominantly affects young males who have occupational exposure to different machines. A proper understanding of the pattern of injury will help in better management.