title: The implementation of a national trauma registry in Greece. Methodology and preliminary results.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Trauma is a leading cause of death worldwide and a major health problem of the modern society. Trauma systems are considered the gold standard of managing patients with trauma. An integral part of any trauma system is a trauma registry. In Europe, and particularly in Greece, trauma registries and systems are in an embryonic stage. In this study, we present an attempt to record trauma in Greece.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Hellenic Society of Trauma and Emergency Surgery invited all the official representatives of the society throughout the country to participate in the study. In succeeding meetings of the representatives, the reporting form was developed and the inclusion criteria were defined meticulously. Inclusion criteria were defined as patients with trauma requiring admission, transfer to a higher level center, or arrived dead or died in the emergency department of the reporting hospital. All reports were accumulated by the Hellenic Trauma society, imported in an electronic database, and analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-two hospitals receiving patients with trauma participated in the country, representing 40% of the country's healthcare facilities and serving 40% of the country's population. In 12 months time, (October 2005 to September 2006), 8,862 patients were included in the study. Of them, 66.9% were men and 31.3% were women. The compilation rate of the reporting forms was surprisingly high, considering that the final reporting form included 150 data points and that there were no independent personnel in charge of filling the forms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Trauma registries are feasible even in health care systems where funding of medical research is sparse.
authors.affiliation: Surgical Intensive Care Unit, 1st Propaedeutic Surgical Clinic, Hippocration General Hospital, Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Stylianos
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Katsaragakis
authors.forename: Maria E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Theodoraki
authors.forename: Kostas
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Toutouzas
authors.forename: Panagiotis G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Drimousis
authors.forename: Antreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Larentzakis
authors.forename: Spiros
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stergiopoulos
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Aggelakis
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lapidakis
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Massalis
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Theodorou
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012042:Registries / Q000592:standards*; D012955:Societies, Medical; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*