Emergency treatment of sports injuries: an epidemiologic study

Garrido Chamorro RP, Pérez San Roque J, González Lorenzo M, Diéguez Zaragoza S, Pastor Cesteros R, López-Andújar Aguiriano L, Llorens Soriano P

Objectives: To analyze epidemiologic patterns related to the treatment of sports-related

injuries and the impact these injuries have on a hospital emergency department’s caseload.

Methods: We carried out a prospective observational study to describe 2000 sports injuries

treated consecutively over a period of 4 years. The variables studied were age,

gender, sport, type of injury, location of injury, treatment provided in the hospital

emergency department, and destination at discharge from the department.

Results: Most sports lesions were in males (85%). The mean (SD) age of all sports-injured

patients was 25.99 (10) years. Football (soccer) caused the largest proportion of injuries

(49.5%) and was followed by cycling (9.5%) and basketball (8.7%). Most injuries

involved a lower limb (56%). Bruises accounted for 33.8% of the caseload and ligament

injuries for 30.1%. Orthopedic treatment was applied in 79.2% of the cases. Ninety-two

percent of the injuries were treated inside the emergency department. When patients

required hospitalization, the admitting department was usually traumatology (64%).

Conclusions: The patient who seeks treatment for a sports injury in our practice area is

usually male and around 25 years of age. The injury, usually bruising of a lower limb, is

generally resolved by emergency department staff without assistance from other departments.

The elevated incidence of sports injuries, require orthopedic treatment in

young persons should be taken into consideration given the social and employment-related

repercussions.

Diéguez Zaragoza S, Garrido Chamorro RP, González Lorenzo M, Llorens Soriano P, López-Andújar Aguiriano L, Pastor Cesteros R, Pérez San Roque J