Background: Trauma is a leading cause of death worldwide and a major
health problem of the modem society. Trauma systems are considered the
gold standard of managing patients with trauma. An integral part of any
trauma system is a trauma registry. In Europe, and particularly in
Greece, trauma registries and systems are in an embryonic stage. In this
study, we present an attempt to record trauma in Greece.
Methods: The Hellenic Society of Trauma and Emergency Surgery invited
all the official representatives of the society throughout the country
to participate in the study. In succeeding meetings of the
representatives, the reporting form was developed and the inclusion
criteria were defined meticulously. Inclusion criteria were defined as
patients with trauma requiring admission, transfer to a higher level
center, or arrived dead or died in the emergency department of the
reporting hospital. All reports were accumulated by the Hellenic Trauma
society, imported in an electronic database, and analyzed.
Results: Thirty-two hospitals receiving patients with trauma
participated in the country, representing 40% of the country’s
healthcare facilities and serving 40% of the country’s population. In
12 months time, (October 2005 to September 2006), 8,862 patients were
included in the study. Of them, 66.9% were men and 31.3% were women.
The compilation rate of the reporting forms was surprisingly high,
considering that the final reporting form included 150 data points and
that there were no independent personnel in charge of filling the forms.
Conclusions: Trauma registries are feasible even in health care systems
where funding of medical research is sparse
