title: Musculoskeletal injuries: a private specialist hospital perspective.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Trauma remains one of the leading causes of death globally. It also leads to short and long term morbidity as well as enormous economic loss, especially for a developing economy such as Nigeria.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To describe the pattern and outcome of musculoskeletal injuries.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a 5-year retrospective study of musculoskeletal injuries seen in Havana Specialist Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria. A private hospital servicing mainly families of the upper and middle economic class.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One thousand, one hundred and twenty-one cases were studied. Males accounted for 730 (65.1%). Ages 3 weeks to 78 years were affected with a mean of 34 years and peak incidence in the 21-30 years group. Road traffic accident caused 959(85.5%) of the injuries, followed by falls 76 (6.8%) and gunshots 52 (4.6%). Four hundred and eighty-three (50.4%) of the RTA were motorcycle related. Lower limbs alone were affected in 228 patients (20.3%), upper limbs in 74 (6.6%), head and neck in 41 (3.7%). Two hundred and fifty-eight patients (23.0%) had two hundred and sixty-six fractures. Five hundred and eight patients (45.3%) had multiple injuries. Twenty-five patients (2.2%) died.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Musculoskeletal injuries are mostly caused by road traffic accidents and affects mainly young adult males. Motorcycle related incidents constitute majority of road traffic accidents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Havana Specialist Hospital, Lagos.
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Obalum
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D016304:Hospitals, Private; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009141:Musculoskeletal System / Q000293:injuries*; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult