Browsing by Author "Daniel Asiimwe"

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    Epidemiology and Early Outcomes of Assault Injuries Among Trauma Patients Presenting at Kampala International University Teaching Hospital and Jinja Regional Referral Hospital
    (Kampala International University, 2021-11) Daniel Asiimwe
    Background: Interpersonal violence is increasingly becoming a global public health concern and in Uganda, intentional injuries constitute 7.3% of the injury burden (Mutto, Lett, Lawoko, Nansamba, & Svanstrom, 2010). Objective: To assess the epidemiology and early outcomes of assault injuries among trauma patients presenting at Kampala International University Teaching Hospital and Jinja Regional Referral Hospital. Methods: This was a prospective observational cohort study conducted among of 439 trauma patients presented at KIU-TH and JRRH, 143 patients had assault injuries and 296 non assault injuries. 140 eligible assault patients were actively followed up to achive study objectives. The ethical clearance number was UG-REC-023/2021-17. Data were obtained from all the participants using a questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 27. The analyzed data was then presented in form of frequency tables. Results: Out of 140 eligible assault patients, the head was the most isolated body part injured accounting for 38(27.1%) and it was also part of 68 (48.6%) multiple injuries. The commonest type of injuries were cuts & Soft tissue injuries accounting for 96(68.6%). Based on Kampala Trauma Score II (KTS II), most 62(44.3%) of assaults injuries presenting were mild injuries, 49(35%) were moderate injuries and lastly, 29(20.7%) were severe injuries. The factors significantly associated with assault injuries were male sex (OR=1.67, 95%CI=(1.04-2.67), P-value=0.032), unemployment (OR=1.61, 95%CI=(1.04-2.47), P value=0.030), and alcohol consumption (OR=1.70, 95%CI=(1.11-2.60), P-value=0.015). Majority 124(88.6%) were still alive by 30 days of the follow-up in the hospitals, and there were 8(5.7%) referrals and 8(5.7%) deaths. The average hospital stay for dead patient was of 2 days, the living one was 3.5 days and it took an average hospital stay of less than a day for an assault patient to be referred. At JRRH the average hospital stay was 3.2 days while at KIU-TH the average hospital stay was 3.5 days. Conclusions: Assault is a significant health problem linked to many negative outcomes such as death and poor physical health. Therefore there is a need to create more job opportunities to reduce unemployment and putting in place policies aimed at regulating the consumption of Alcohol among communities to reduce the burden related to assault injuries Keywords: epidemiology, assault, injury , interpersonal violence