XXXX experience over a two-year period at a tertiary hospital in north-western Tanzania: a prospective review of 396 cases.

@entity1 @entity1661 @entity344 @entity3511 @entity130
@entity1661 continues to be a major cause of @entity130 admissions all over the world and contributes significantly to high morbidity and mortality. A descriptive prospective study was conducted at Bugando Medical Centre in north-western Tanzania to describe our experience on the management of @entity1661 outlining the causes, injury characteristics and treatment outcome of these @entity1 . Statistical data analysis was done using SPSS programme. A total of 396 @entity1 were studied. Male to female ratio was 3.2: 1. The median age was 28 years. More than three quarter of @entity1 sustained blunt @entity3511 . Road traffic accidents (RTAs) were the most common cause of injury accounting for 64.9% of cases. None of our @entity1 received any pre-hospital care. The spleen was the most common injured organ in blunt @entity1661 occurring in 176 (75.9%) @entity1 , while in penetrating @entity344 was the most common in 24 (10.3%) @entity1 . One hundred twenty-four (31.3%) @entity1 had associated extra- @entity3511 of which the head/neck region (46.8%) was commonly affected. A total of 232 (58.6%) @entity1 were treated surgically with a negative laparotomy rate of 7.8%. Complication and mortality rates were 20.7% and 17.9% respectively. The age of @entity1 , presence of associated extra- @entity3511 , severity of injury (Kampala Trauma Score II  <= 6), admission Systolic Blood Pressure < 90mnHg, injury-arrival time > 24 hours and presence of postoperative complications mainly surgical site infections significantly predicted mortality (p < 0.001). The overall median length of hospital stay was 12 days. @entity1 who had severe @entity130 (KTS II  <= 6) and those with associated @entity130 stayed longer in the hospital (p < 0.001). @entity1661 resulting from RTAs is still rampant in our environment and remains a major source of morbidity and mortality. Preventive strategies should be focused on reduction of road traffic accidents, violent crimes and social conflicts.
