H M Saleh1, A E Elsabagh2, M G Elewa2, A A Fawzy2, O M Hassan2, A C Comer3, I M Abdelmonem2, J M Hirshon3,4,5, M El-Shinawi6. 1. Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Ramses Street, Cairo, 11566, Egypt. haitham.m.saleh@gmail.com. 2. Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Ramses Street, Cairo, 11566, Egypt. 3. Charles McC. Mathias, Jr. National Study Center for Trauma and EMS, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA. 4. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA. 5. Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA. 6. Department of General Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Injury is an escalating public health problem, representing about 9% of global mortality, which disproportionately impacts lower- and middle-income countries. There are approximately 12,000 annual fatalities from road traffic injuries in Egypt, but a little information about delays in seeking emergent care is available. OBJECTIVES: To measure the time interval between sustaining an injury and presentation to the emergency department of Ain Shams University Surgery Hospital and to identify possible causes of these delays. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional, facilitated survey of a convenience sample of trauma patients presenting to the emergency department of Ain Shams University Surgery Hospital from 1 February to 31 May 2014. Data obtained included: demographic information, trauma incident details, and injury assessment. RESULTS: The average reported transport time for patients from injury to hospital arrival was 3.8 h, while the mean ambulance response time was 45 min. Referral from other hospitals was revealed to be a significant cause of delay (P = 0.004), while ignorance of the local ambulance phone number could not be confirmed as a cause (P = 0.2). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that trauma patients at our hospital experience more than 3 h of delay until they reach the ED. It also identified the possible causes accounting for that delay. However, additional nationwide research is needed to establish the clear causation or association of these causes with the delay intervals.
BACKGROUND:Injury is an escalating public health problem, representing about 9% of global mortality, which disproportionately impacts lower- and middle-income countries. There are approximately 12,000 annual fatalities from road traffic injuries in Egypt, but a little information about delays in seeking emergent care is available. OBJECTIVES: To measure the time interval between sustaining an injury and presentation to the emergency department of Ain Shams University Surgery Hospital and to identify possible causes of these delays. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional, facilitated survey of a convenience sample of traumapatients presenting to the emergency department of Ain Shams University Surgery Hospital from 1 February to 31 May 2014. Data obtained included: demographic information, trauma incident details, and injury assessment. RESULTS: The average reported transport time for patients from injury to hospital arrival was 3.8 h, while the mean ambulance response time was 45 min. Referral from other hospitals was revealed to be a significant cause of delay (P = 0.004), while ignorance of the local ambulance phone number could not be confirmed as a cause (P = 0.2). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that traumapatients at our hospital experience more than 3 h of delay until they reach the ED. It also identified the possible causes accounting for that delay. However, additional nationwide research is needed to establish the clear causation or association of these causes with the delay intervals.
Authors: Michael M Dinh; Kendall Bein; Susan Roncal; Christopher M Byrne; Jeffrey Petchell; Jeffrey Brennan Journal: Injury Date: 2012-02-14 Impact factor: 2.586
Authors: John Whitaker; Nollaig O'Donohoe; Max Denning; Dan Poenaru; Elena Guadagno; Andrew J M Leather; Justine I Davies Journal: BMJ Glob Health Date: 2021-05