Abstract
Adequate intervention in trauma management and prevention requires a well-documented database for objective study of the disease characteristics, hence the need for a trauma registry. The aim and objective of this study is to document in a database all patients admitted in our hospital following trauma. This study was conducted at the Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. Beginning 1 January 2012, data was collected on a trauma data sheet and transferred to a 3-page, 80-point questionnaire on Epi info3.5.2 software and stored in a standalone desktop computer. Four hundred fifty-nine patients were registered. Road traffic collisions were the most common causes of trauma, 312 (70.0 %), followed by gunshots, 58 (12.6 %). Mechanism of injury was blunt in 307 patients (66.9 %) and penetrating in 152 patients (33.1 %). Only 9 patients (2.0 %) were brought in by ambulance; majority came by public transportation, 401 (87.4 %). Eighty four patients (18.3 %) suffered various complications; 342 (74.5 %) were discharged home in satisfactory condition, and there were 32 hospital mortalities (7.0 %). Challenges encountered include difficulty in data collection, lack of computer software and internet access, no dedicated registry staff and no funding to engage, train and retain data gathering and management personnel. Our results provide data in support of the known epidemiology of trauma in our environment. Challenges encountered can be overcome using local assets and resources.