Clinical profile of patients with below knee soft tissue injuries

Abstract

Background: In the recent era of trauma majority of people suffer from lower limb injuries, which cause functional disabilities and psychosocial consequences. Lower limb injury specially below knee generally involves young and productive people so it is the prime responsibility of the society to prevent such incidents. Our aim is to study clinical profile of various below knee soft tissue injuries to develop better prediction models for defining the most important target for prevention and to reduce morbidities and disabilities.Methods: The study was conducted in the Department of Surgery, Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences (HIMS), Swami Ram Nagar, Dehradun, over a period of 12 months. Subjects were recruited from patients presenting in Emergency/Surgery OPD, HIMS, Dehradun with a primary diagnosis of below knee soft tissue injuries. A total of 64 patients were included in the study.Results: Maximum number of patients were in the age group of 20-40 years (46.88%), and were predominantly males (84.38%). The commonest mode of injury was RTA (75%) primarily involving 2 wheelers (72.91%). Most patients (42.18%) had late presentation to the hospital i.e. after 72 hours of injury which was found to be associated with contamination of wound in 66.6% of patients.Conclusions: The study emphasizes the need for preventive strategies and protection mechanisms for lower limb injuries. Late presenting contaminated wounds leads to higher complication rates hence there is need for efficient ambulance services for ensuring timely intervention.