Epidemiologic study of patients with upper extremity injuries in Besat Hospital in Hamadan City, Iran

BACKGROUND: Upper extremity trauma is the most common anatomical site of injuries with long-term effects. This epidemiological study aims to evaluate patients with upper extremity injuries who referred to the Emergency Department of Besat Hospital in Hamadan, Iran. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed retrospectively from the beginning of March 2019 to the end of September 2019 at the Besat Educational Center in Hamadan. The convenience sampling method was used in which all patients with upper extremity trauma entered into the study. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. Quantitative data were expressed as mean and standard deviation (SD) and qualitative data were expressed as frequency and percentage. The chi-square test was used to analyze the data with a significance level of 0.05. RESULTS: In this study, 467 patients with a mean age of 33.44 ± 24.15 years were studied, of whom 298 (63.8%) were men and 169 (36.2%) were women. The majority of people under study were in the age group of 1-9 years old (21.6%), married (51.4%), self-employed (27.8%), living in the city (58.5%), and illiterate (43.5%). CONCLUSION: The most common cause of upper limb injury was related to falls from different levels and accidents. Therefore, observing the principles of safety at work, improving the safety of roads, personal vehicles, and public transport, addressing issues related to the prevention of accidents such as the forced use of safety equipment at work, and compliance with traffic rules and driving can play an important role in reducing trauma.