Pattern of hand injuries during peace time activities in troops and their management at a tertiary care hospital

Dr (Col) DJ Sharma; Dr (Maj) Bharat

Volume : VII, Issue : III, March - 2017

Pattern of hand injuries during peace time activities in troops and their management at a tertiary care hospital

Dr Col Dj Sharma, Dr Maj Bharat

Abstract :

Introduction Hand injuries resulting from work, training and sports related accidents are daily happening in troops. Management of hand injuries are important to preserve the complex functions of hand & its social importance. Material and methods A retrospective analytical study design was used to evaluate our experience. All patients reporting to Plastic & Reconstructive surgery department of the hospital during Apr 2014 to Mar 2016, including transfer in from other zonal and forward hospitals were included in the study. The injured hands were assessed for cause of injuries, involvement of skin, soft tissues, bones, joints and neurovascular bundles, and final outcome after standard management protocols. Results A total of 278 patients with different hand injuries were treated during the study period. The most common mechanism of injury was crush resulting from handling of machinery and heavy equipment during routine working. Sports related injury were second most common cause. There were fair share of trivial accidents at home as well. The median duration of wound to heal and return to work was ten weeks. Conclusion Hand injuries are common in men and most are occupationally related. Needless to say that occupational safety programs must be improved. The characteristics of traumatic hand injuries in our hospital were very similar to those seen worldwide, except for a higher incidence due to flour kneading machine accidents.