BACKGROUND: To compare main trauma mechanisms, main injuries and severity of patients’ conditions. METHODS: A retrospective study of 1486 records of trauma patients treated at the Firefighters’ Rescue Unit in Catanduva, Sao Paulo, from January 1997 to December 2003. Assessment was based on the following criteria: injuries, Revised Trauma Score, and trauma mechanisms. The variables were expressed in percentages and evaluated by X² Test. RESULTS: The most frequent accidents were motorcycle related (42% of the total). The most affected segments were the lower limbs and pelvis (32%). 88% of the patients had superficial injuries. Most patients had RTS6 for all types of accidents except for those related to large truck, in which 25% of the victims had RTS<2. If we ignore motor vehicle accidents, 63.4% were falls. There was association between trauma mechanisms and injured segment of the body (p <0.01). The lower limbs/pelvis were the most affected body parts in accidents involving people hit by cars and motorcycle accidents. The head/neck were injured in agressions, falls, and accidents involving large trucks and cars. Cyclists had similar head/neck and lower patients limb/pelvis injuries. CONCLUSION: The majority of trauma patients in Catanduva were victims of motorcycle accidents. The part of the body most frequently injured was the the lower limbs/pelvis. Most patients had superficial injuries characterized as mild trauma.
Accidents, traffic; Wounds and injuries; First aid; Trauma severity indices
