The Prevalence Of: Neglected Musculoskeletal Injuries, In Bareilly Region

Neglected Musculoskeletal Injuries

Abstract

Background: Musculoskeletal injuries needing urgent care are often amongst the commonest conditions at the first referral health facilities. They are initially being treated by non-specialist doctors, nurses and paramedics. By the time the patients reach a specialized tertiary care centre they have malunited or ununited limb bone fractures or established infected non unions or non-unions with broken implant or mal positioned implants. Objective: to find the prevalence of neglected musculoskeletal injuries in the region. Methods: A retrospective study was done at one of the tertiary care hospital in Bareilly Uttar Pradesh. The records of all the patients above 18 years who had musculoskeletal injury of more than one month duration and the patients below 18 years who had musculoskeletal injury more than three weeks duration during the period of year 2013were retrieved. The necessary information was collected on semi structured schedule. Data Analysis was done with help of SPSS version 10.0 Statistical Software. Results: Total number of neglected musculoskeletal injuries received was 197 out of which males were 79 % and females 21 %.There were 62% patients from rural background and remaining 38% from urban. On evaluation of monthly data it was found that the maximum numbers of neglected musculoskeletal injury cases, 29 were admitted in the month of July, and minimum 2 in the month of September. Age wise maximum number of cases was in the age group of below eighteen 51 cases, followed by age group between forty and forty nine, 39 cases and the least in age group above seventy, 6 cases .In the extremities lower limb was more involved as the score reached 109 cases, while upper limb had 68 and spine 20.Conclusion: There is an urgent need to address the issue of neglected musculoskeletal injuries for which a manifold approach is needed at all levels.[Narula R NJIRM 2014; 5(5) :64-69]