ABSTRACT

Background: A trauma registry plays an important role in the process of health-service improvement. The organization of trauma care in the Caribbean is limited; there is a lack of registry and distribution of patients.

Objective: The purpose was to compare incidence-trends of patients with trauma-related injuries in the Curacao trauma registry over 14 years, since Curacao is part of the Dutch Caribbean.

Methods: The data of all injured patients admitted to the Emergency Department (ED) from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2013, were retrospectively analysed using a prospective trauma registry. Subsequently, they were crosschecked with the registry of Central Bureau of Statistics, Curacao (CBSC).

Results: In the ED, 14 886 patients with trauma-related injuries were selected: 9390 M and 5496 F. The incidence per 100 000 inhabitants per year of traffic-related trauma was 529.7 (95% confidence interval [CI]:430.9, 628.5); firearm-related 29.2 (95% CI: 18.3, 40.2); stab wound-related 26.4 (95% CI: 18.4, 34.4) and molestation-related 173 (95% CI: 127.5, 218.5). There is an overall decline in the incidence through the years. In all the trauma-related groups, there were significantly more men and people aged between 15 and 34 years. The hospitalization of traffic-related injured patients was 22.7%, firearm-related 48.3%, stab wound-related 30.5% and molestation-related 18.9%.

Conclusion: The hospitalizations percentages differ. The incidence and trauma mechanism seem to be age- and gender-related. There is a higher incidence of trauma-related injuries, in Curacao compared with the incidence in the other countries in the region. This study is a start to the set-up of a new trauma registry.