ABSTRACT
Objectives: To evaluate the factors implicated in paediatric urologic trauma at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH); Nnewi; and to determine how these factors could influence the management. Patients and Methods: All medical cases of paediatric urological trauma managed at NAUTH between January 1st; 2000 and December 31st; 2001 were analyzed retrospectively on the basis of the patient records. The patient group included neonates up to children aged 15 years. Apart from the biodata; the cause of the trauma; the organ(s) injured; the treatment given and its outcome were critically analyzed. Results: In the two years under review; 257 cases of paediatric trauma were managed. Out of these; urological trauma was found in 18 patients (7) with a male/female ratio of 5:1 (15 males and 3 females). The commonest causes of paediatric urological trauma in our environment were found to be circumcision mishaps followed by road traffic accidents (RTA) caused by commercial motorcyclists. Treatment was mainly surgical. There was no mortality but we recorded morbidity in four cases (22.2). Conclusion: Our study shows that most of our paediatric urological trauma is preventable. We conclude that paediatric urological trauma in our environment would be drastically reduced if there were laws stipulating that circumcisions should only be done by qualified personnel and if the existing traffic laws of the country were strictly enforced
