Aim of the study: The aim of this study was to record and to evaluate
the epidemiology of trauma in Greece and to assess the quality of
management provided for trauma patients in the emergency department in
Greek hospitals.
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. The representatives that responded
positively, met with the Board of the society in succeeding meetings to
establish the reporting form and the inclusion criteria. Inclusion
criteria were defined as trauma patients 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 data base and
analyzed. The design of the study was prospective and observational.
Results: In total 8862 patients were included in the study in 12 months
time. Of them 68.7% (n = 6084) were male, aged 41.8 +/- 20.6 (mean +/-
S.D.) and 31.3% were female (n = 2778), aged 52.7 +/- 24.1 (mean +/-
S.D.). The mean duration of treatment in the emergency room department
was I h and 28 min. Of the total number of patients, 2312 (26.1 %) were
initially assessed and managed by a specialist and 6249 (70.5%) were
initially assessed and managed by a resident.
Conclusions: Data from this study show that there is substantial room
for improvement in the patient care in the emergency department
following trauma. Further evaluation will be required to identify
particular management patterns that can be readily altered. (C) 2008
Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved