Use of a trauma registry to drive improvement in the regional trauma network systems in Hawassa, Ethiopia

AIM: Our aim is to establish and analyse the first year of trauma registry data from Hawassa University Comprehensive Specialised Hospital (HUCSH)—an Ethiopian tertiary referral centre. We plan to identify possible trends in injury patterns, access to health care and referral pathways and establish if our observations are in keeping with data published from other sub-Saharan LMIC’s. METHODS: Prospective data collection using the WHO trauma registry dataset. All trauma patients presenting to HUCSH between November 2019 and November 2020 were included. Military patients were excluded. Dataset: Age, sex, region of residence, mode of transport to hospital, referral centre, time from injury to arrival in HUCSH, arrival triage category, Kampala Trauma Score (KTS), mechanism of injury, injury type, closed/open fracture and 24 h outcomes. Data statistical analysis was performed to calculate frequencies of the above variables. RESULTS: There were a total of 1919 cases. Fifty-three per cent were caused by road traffic collision and 49% were fracture/dislocations. Public transport was the most common mode to hospital—40%. Seventy-seven per cent of all trauma admissions were referred from other centres, 69% had a mild KTS. A total of 376 patients presented with an open fracture—76% had a low KTS and 67% remained in ED for > 24 h. Sixty-five per cent of ambulances were utilised for mild KTS patients, only 25% of ambulances transported moderate and severe injuries. CONCLUSION: We have shown that a ‘one size fits all approach’ should not be adopted for LMIC’s as trends vary between regions and countries. Improvements are needed in ambulance utilisation, the use of appropriate triaging tools to facilitate initial basic trauma care and appropriate, timely referrals and the management of open fractures. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00590-022-03410-z.