Injury surveillance in a central hospital in Kigali, Rwanda.

INTRODUCTION

This paper will describe the injury profile of patients admitted over a 9-month period to the emergency department of the Central Hospital (CHUK) in Kigali, Rwanda.

METHODS

A quantitative, retrospective descriptive survey was conducted with the purpose of identifying the injury profile of the patients admitted to CHUK during the first 9 months of 2005. Haddon's Matrix was the conceptual framework used to guide this study. After consultation with the research supervisor, the doctors and nurses working in the emergency department at CHUK, the researcher developed a checklist which was used to collect information from the selected patients' files. This checklist comprised of 4 sections: demographic data, circumstance of injury, category of injury and outcome, and trauma score calculation.

RESULTS

This study found a high proportion of injury, especially in the urban setting that involved young males aged between 16-30 years. Blunt injury was the most common mechanism of injury, with the leading causes of injury being road traffic collisions. This study also highlighted the limitations in the record keeping of the patients admitted to the emergency department.

DISCUSSION

The researcher carried out this study in an attempt to compile an injury profile of patients admitted to CHUK ED in Kigali, Rwanda. The results illustrated that road traffic collisions are the major cause of injuries and young males are the most typical victim. This study also highlighted the limitations in the record keeping of the patients admitted to the emergency department and suggest important implications for the ED nurses working in Rwanda.