Major Mediums to Accidents of Patients Reporting for Plain Radiograph Examinations at the Second Largest Public Hospital X-Ray Facility in the Northern Region, Ghana

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to report the various mediums and demographic characteristics of accident patients who underwent plain radiograph examinations at the Tamale Regional Hospital (TRH) X-Ray Unit. Material and methods:This is a retrospective record analysis of radiology request forms (RRFs) of patients who attended the TRH X-Ray facility due to histories of accidents such as RTA, falls, birth injury, and etcetera. A total of 444 RRFs were analysed, covering a one year period (October 2017 to October 2018). Data was processed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0.Results: Analysis of the 444 forms and outcome are as follows. Accident due to motorcycle accounted for 71.3% of patients' attendance. Falls, other motor vehicles, sports, foreign body ingestion, assault/robbery, gunshot/stabbing, birth injury, suicide, and snake bite occurred at 12.8%, 5.0%, 2.5%, 3.0%, 0.7%, 0.5%, 1.6%, 0.2%, and 0.2% respectively. Other mediums contributed 2.3%. In terms of gender males constituted 65.0% and females 35.0%.Patients between 18 and 45 years had the most accident encounters. Conclusion:Motorcycle is the leading mode of accident in the Northern Region, influencing the foremost accidentrelated reason for plain X-Ray services. Preventive education must particularly target males and those in the most youthful age brackets.