Abstract

Purpose
This study was conducted to gather descriptive data on trauma victims and to observe the general demographic characteristics and clinical profile of trauma victims who were admitted to a regional emergency medical center in the west southern Kyungsangnam-do area.
Objects & Method: The study population consisted of 1,909 trauma patients who visited the emergency department of Gyeongsang National University Hospital between January 2003 and December 2004. The medical records were reviewed in a retrospective manner. Demographic data, the mechanism of injury, and clinical information were collected by three professional medical affairs recorders and an emergency physician and a Revised Trauma Score (RTS) and an Injury Severity Score (ISS) were calculated for each patient. Collected data were analyzed with SPSS software version 12.0. Results: Male patients outmembered female patients (M:F=2.54:1), and the mean age of the population was 4 0 . 5±21.4 years. The mean RTS and ISS were 7.45±1.11 and 8.40±7.44, respectively. The seventies showed the highest ISS(10.94±8.66). The most common mechanism of injury was motor-vehicle accidents (45.57%), followed by falls or slips(28.26%), and other blunt injuries(12.68%). The most frequent causes of death was cerebral herniation due to head injury(68.4%) and irreversible shock(26.3%). Conclusion: The present study clarified the demographic and clinical characteristics of trauma patients in the Kyungsangnam-do area. In the future, prospective clinical data collection is needed for a more sophisticated trauma study.

• Keywords: Trauma, Injury severity score, Revised trauma score, Descriptive study