[Treatment of injuries in the county of Ringkøbing. 1. Incidence of injuries during a period of 4 weeks].

During a period of four weeks (17 September-14 October 1990) all treatments of injured persons in the five hospitals in the County of Ringkøbing were registered. In addition, the refund accounts for all additional services connected with injuries submitted by the 166 general practitioners to the Danish National Health Insurance were also registered. A total incidence rate (calculated on an annual basis) of injuries requiring treatment was found to be 229/1000 og the population per annum. As compared with a similar investigation carried out in 1969, increases in incidence rates of 2.1 for admissions, 3.8 for outpatient hospital treatments and 4.4 for treatment of injuries in general practice were found. An increase in the number of minor injuries is thus concerned, probably partly conditioned by an altered threshold for seeking treatment and partly a slighter increase in the number of more serious injuries. In addition, a significant difference in the frequency of injuries requiring treatment with more numerous treatments was found in the regions of Lemvig and Ringkøbing as compared with the remainder of the county. It is recommended that registration from casualty departments with collection of data for analysis of accidents be undertaken with the object of elucidating the background for the increase in the injuries and the differences between the individual regions in the county.