Evaluation of Occupational Traumatic Injuries in Rural Sectors of Turkey.

ABSTRACT

Aim: Traumatic injuries related to agricultural production can lead to serious disability and even mortality. Inappropriate use of farm machinery increases the risk for accidents. Th e objective of this study was to describe the characteristics of “pat-patmachine”- related work injuries cases treated at the emergency department and to assess injury severity and hospital admissions in the West Black Sea Region of Turkey. Methods: All cases related to injuries caused by work with a “pat pat machine” between June 2003 and June 2010 were included. Information was collected concerning the demographic features of patients, and injury sites, injury types, initial injury severity scores at admission, and clinical features were evaluated. Results: Th irty-nine (73.6%) of the cases were male and 14 (26.4%) were female. Th e ages of the cases were 5–76 years with a mean age of 38.8 ± 18.3 years. Approximately 19% of the cases were considered slight injuries, 30.2% moderate, and 50.9% severe. In terms of age, a plurality of injuries 24 (45.3 %) occurred among those aged 19-45. Th e Glasgow Outcome Scale score for 37 patients was fi ve; it was four for 14 patients, and it was three for two patients. Conclusions: Our fi ndings suggest that the “pat-pat machine” is one of the most dangerous agricultural machines, particularly for adults. In rural areas of Turkey, agricultural machines cause serious injuries that require hospitalization.