Profiling genitourinary injuries in United Arab Emirates

BACKGROUND: The epidemiology of genitourinary (GU) organ injury following general trauma is not well-studied especially in the Middle East. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All patients with GU injuries from the Trauma Registry of Al-Ain Hospital were studied. The registry data was prospectively collected from March 2003 to March 2006. RESULTS: Out of 2573 patients in the registry, 22 had GU injuries (incidence: 0.9%, 2.0 per 100,000 inhabitants per year). Road traffic collision was the most frequent mechanism of injury (50% of all cases). 41% of injuries were renal. In 73% of patients, GU injuries were associated with other organ injuries, the most frequent of which were injuries to the other abdominal and pelvic organs (94%). The mean Injury Severity Score, mean total hospital stay, the percentage of patients who required intensive care unit (ICU) admission were higher in patients with GU injuries compared to non-GU patients (17.1 vs. 5.5 (P 0.001), 15.4 vs. 9.2 days (P 0.040) and 43% vs. 8%, (P 0.0001), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of trauma-related GU injuries in the current study appears to be comparable to those reported from the West. Patients with GU organ injuries tend to have more severe trauma compared to other patients. Road traffic collision was the most common mechanism of injury and the kidney was the most frequently injured organ.