[Agricultural injuries in Ringkjøbing County]. / Landbrugsulykker i Ringkjøbing Amt.

The aim of the study was to investigate agricultural injuries in Ringkjøbing County in the period 1.1-31.12.1992. At the five local hospitals, all persons treated after accidents on farms were registered prospectively and classified according to activity and injury severity (AIS-90). A total of 294 injured persons were registered. Of those, 257 (87%) accidents were due to working activities. Four persons (1%) were killed in the accident. The mean age was 42 years (2-81). Fractures were seen in 32% of the patients and open wounds in 21%. Only 6% had lesions with an AIS-score > 2, and only six patients (2%) had lesions with an AIS-score > 3. In spite of that, 30% were unable to work for more than four weeks because of the injury. An injury prevention programme towards agricultural injuries is therefore suggested.

[Did the distribution of trauma treatment by general practitioners and emergency departments in the county of Ringkøbing change after the introduction of the on-call coverage for general practitioners?]. / Aendres fordelingen af skadebehandlingen i Ringkøbing Amt mellem almen praksis og skadestue ved etablering af storvagtkredse for alment praktiserende laeger?

The aim of the study was to investigate the changes in minor trauma treatment structure after a reduction in the number of general practitioners on call in a county, where minor trauma treatment is supposed to be carried out by general practitioners and only major trauma is supposed to be treated at the hospital Accident and Emergency Department. The design was a cross-sectional analysis of trauma treatment in Ringkøbing County before and after the reduction in the number of general practitioners on call. Over a four week period before and after the reduction in the number of general practitioners on call all trauma treatment at the Accident and Emergency Departments was registered together with trauma treatment by general practitioners. Furthermore a questionnaire was given before and after the reduction to a sample of the population regarding the population's behaviour and attitude towards minor trauma. Analysis showed that there was a minor reduction in the total number of trauma treatments after the reduction in the number of general practitioners on call was made. The percentage of patients that were treated at the Accident and Emergency Departments at hospital directly without being referred from general practitioners was reduced from 30% to 21%. The population's behaviour and attitude towards minor trauma was unchanged.

[Treatment of injuries in the county of Ringkøbing. 1. Incidence of injuries during a period of 4 weeks]. / Skadebehandlingen i Ringkøbing Amt. 1. Tilskadekomst i en fireugers periode.

During a period of four weeks (17 September-14 October 1990) all treatments of injured persons in the five hospitals in the County of Ringkøbing were registered. In addition, the refund accounts for all additional services connected with injuries submitted by the 166 general practitioners to the Danish National Health Insurance were also registered. A total incidence rate (calculated on an annual basis) of injuries requiring treatment was found to be 229/1000 og the population per annum. As compared with a similar investigation carried out in 1969, increases in incidence rates of 2.1 for admissions, 3.8 for outpatient hospital treatments and 4.4 for treatment of injuries in general practice were found. An increase in the number of minor injuries is thus concerned, probably partly conditioned by an altered threshold for seeking treatment and partly a slighter increase in the number of more serious injuries. In addition, a significant difference in the frequency of injuries requiring treatment with more numerous treatments was found in the regions of Lemvig and Ringkøbing as compared with the remainder of the county. It is recommended that registration from casualty departments with collection of data for analysis of accidents be undertaken with the object of elucidating the background for the increase in the injuries and the differences between the individual regions in the county.

[Treatment of injuries in the county of Ringkøbing. 2. Function of the closed casualty department]. / Skadebehandlingen i Ringkøbing Amt. 2. Den lukkede skadestuefunktion.

The closed casualty department function in the County of Ringkøbing was investigated during a period of four weeks. It was demonstrated that this functioned according to plan as the distribution general practice/casualty department was 3.4:1 and 70% of the patients in the casualty department were referred via general practice. The result of this was that the majority of minor injuries (removal of foreign bodies and treatment of wounds) were treated in general practice. In the casualty departments, there were fewer minor injuries and injuries which did not require specific treatment than are the case in open casualty departments. However, a definite diurnal variation was observed in the function of the closed casualty department as patients showed a greater tendency to seek treatment in the casualty department after working hours than during working hours and the general practitioners referred twice as many patients after working hours for continued treatment in the casualty departments. It is concluded that the closed casualty department system in the County of Ringkøbing functions well but that problems may be anticipated with the function if the duty-rosters for the general practitioners are altered so that the distances between general practitioners on duty increase and these have an increased work-load.

[Head injuries among children in the county of Ringkøbing. 1. An analysis of hospital data]. / Kranietraumer blandt børn i Ringkøbing Amt. 1. En analyse of sygehusdata.

The authors analysed hospital data concerning 1,498 patients aged 0-15 years admitted on 1,548 occasions in the hospitals in Ringkøbing County during the period 1.1.1982 to 31.8.1989 after head injuries. The commonest diagnosis was cerebral concussion (91.0%). Thirteen children (0.8%) died in hospital. A significant preponderance of boys was found together with a significant increase in hospital admissions in the individual age groups with increasing age. The number of hospital admissions decreased during the period and the number of admissions per 1,000 of population was below the average for Denmark. A definite seasonal variation was observed with maximums in May and August and minimums in December and February. No significant increase in the number of admissions on weekdays was observed. The average duration of hospitalization was four days (1-196) and 73.8% of the patients were discharged after three days.

[Cranial injuries among children in the county of Ringkøbing. 2. Analysis of accidents]. / Kranietraumer blandt børn i Ringkøbing Amt. 2. En ulykkesanalyse.

Questionnaires were sent concerning all of the patients aged 0-15 years who were admitted to the Ringkøbing County Hospitals during the period 1.1.1982 to 31.8.1989 with head injuries. The object of the questionnaires was to elucidate the circumstances of the accident which resulted in hospitalization. Questionnaires concerning 988 patients (67.5%) were returned. Definite accumulation of the accidents was observed during the period 12.00-18.00 with 55.2% of all the accidents. The majority of the accidents (72.3%) occurred out-of-doors and the majority of these on transport areas. Bicycle accidents were most common, most frequently in children over the age of four years. Where younger children were concerned, accidents in the home were commonest. Accidents in playgrounds and during sports constituted only 13% of the total material. A relatively great proportion of the children (42.9%) were under supervision, usually from their own family, when the accident occurred. On the basis of this investigation, the authors recommend that possible prophylactic measures in the County of Ringkøbing should be directed towards bicycle accidents among the older children and accidents in the homes where smaller children are concerned.