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Declaration of a State of Emergency in Trinidad and Tobago: Effect on the Trauma Admissions at the National Referral Trauma Centre

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 March 2015

Michael J. Ramdass ,
Shamir O. Cawich Open the ORCID record for Shamir O. Cawich [Opens in a new window] ,
Suresh Pooran ,
David Milne ,
Earnest Ali  and
Vijay Naraynsingh
Michael J. Ramdass
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Surgical Sciences, University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago
Shamir O. Cawich*
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Surgical Sciences, University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago
Suresh Pooran
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Surgical Sciences, University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago
David Milne
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Surgical Sciences, University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago
Earnest Ali
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Surgical Sciences, University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago
Vijay Naraynsingh
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Surgical Sciences, University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago
*
Correspondence:Shamir O. Cawich, FACSDepartment of Clinical Surgical SciencesSt Augustine CampusUniversity of the West IndiesTrinidad and Tobago E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Objective

To determine the effect of a State of Emergency (SOE) on penetrating injuries at the main trauma center in Trinidad and Tobago.

Methods

Emergency room registers were accessed in order to identify all patients treated for penetrating injuries from July 1, 2010 through December 30, 2012. This study period was chosen to include injuries one year before and one year after the SOE that spanned from August 21, 2011 to December 5, 2011. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 19 and a P value <.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results

There were 1,067 patients treated for penetrating injuries. There were significantly more injuries from gunshots compared to stab wounds (64.7% vs 35.3%; P<.001), and this pattern was maintained during the SOE (54.7% vs 45.3%; P=.37). There was a significant fall in mean monthly admissions for penetrating trauma during the SOE when compared to the 12-month period before its imposition (17.7, SD=4.0 vs 38.9, SD=12.3; CI, 5.6-36.8; P=.0108). One year later, mean monthly admissions for penetrating trauma were similar to those during the SOE (22.7, SD=2.1 vs 17.6, SD=4.0; CI, -2.3-12.3; P=.1295). The incidence of gunshot wounds remained low and stab wounds increased.

Conclusion

This study has demonstrated that there was a reduction in the incidence of penetrating trauma at the national trauma center after the SOE, with a shift from gunshot to stab wounds.

RamdassMJ, CawichSO, PooranS, MilneD, AliE, NaraynsinghV.Declaration of a State of Emergency in Trinidad and Tobago: Effect on the Trauma Admissions at the National Referral Trauma Centre. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2015;30(3):14.

Keywords

emergencygunshottraumaTrinidadviolence
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 30 , Issue 3 , June 2015 , pp. 229 - 232
Copyright
© World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2015 

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