The severity of fall injuries in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction fall injuries constitute a major public health concern worldwide, contributing to over 646,000 deaths every year. The aim of this study was to determine the nature and severity of fall injuries at a tertiary hospital in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Methods we conducted a cross-sectional study at the King Khalid Hospital and Prince Sultan Centre for Health Care in Al Kharj. We recruited the patients and followed them through the triage, admission and discharge processes. We analyzed the participant´s clinical notes on the electronic health record (EHR) to obtain information relevant to the study, including the nature, cause, mechanism of injury, demographic characteristics and prognostic factors captured through the injury severity score (ISS), the Glasgow coma scale (GCS) and the presence or absence of shock. Results of 264 patients, most of the patients were children under the age of ten (25.7%), followed by young adults between the ages of twenty-one and thirty (18.2%). The ISS was associated with severe head, chest, skull, brain, scalp, rib, abdominal, pelvic and lower limb injuries. The GCS was associated with severe the head, chest, skull, brain and rib injuries (p<0.005). The degree of shock was also significantly associated with pelvic, head, chest, skull, brain, scalp, abdominal and upper limb injuries (p<0.05). Conclusion: fall injuries in our setting are severe. Training of staff should prioritize head, chest, skull, brain, abdominal and rib injury management. As a reference hospital, minor injuries are more likely to be managed at lower levels of care.

Demographic and Clinical Characteristics of Females with Breast Cancer in Iraq with Respect to Age: A Single-Center Study

“…This trend is also observed in Jordan, where 53.7% of breast cancer patients were over the age of 50 [21] . Moreover, a multicentric, crosssectional study conducted at three hospitals in KSA from February 2019 to February 2020 reported that the risk of breast cancer increased with age in Saudi Arabia [22] . Similar findings were reported in Turkey, where Ozsoy et al noted that the risk of breast cancer increases after the age of 40 [23] .…”

“…Another study conducted in Mexico found that 79% of patients had ductal histology [39] . Razik et al found that individuals in the age group of 31-45 years were less likely to be diagnosed with ductal/lobular/papillary carcinoma compared to those in the less than 30 years age group [22] . Certain histologic subtypes of breast cancer are associated with a more favorable clinical outcome, and it is important to consider histologic variety as a prognostic factor when deciding on breast cancer management.…”

Fall Prevention Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices among Nurses in Saudi Arabia

“…This underreporting is particularly evident in Asian nations, where the proportion of falls resulting in injury is significantly greater [6]. According to the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health, over 5.42 million individuals in the country are either children or seniors [7], and falls lead to serious injuries and hospitalizations for up to half of all children and elderly persons each year [8,9]. In the Hail area, with an average hospital stay of 10.5 days and approximately 40,000 admissions per year [7], 42 hospital fall cases were reported in 2022.…”