title: Blunt traumatic injury in the Arab Middle Eastern populations.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Trauma represents a global public health concern with an estimated 5 million deaths annually. Moreover, the incidence of blunt traumatic injuries (BTI) particularly road traffic accidents (RTAs) and workplace-related injuries are rising throughout the world-wide.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We aimed to review the epidemiology and prevention of BTI, in the Arab Middle East.
  
  
  METHODS
  A traditional narrative literature review was carried out using PubMed, MEDLINE and EMBASE search engines. We used the keywords "traumatic injuries", "blunt" "epidemiology", "Arab Middle East" between December 1972 and March 2013.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The most common mechanisms of BTI in our region are RTAs, falls from height, struck by heavy objects and pedestrian motor vehicle trauma crashes. The rate of RTA and occupational injuries are markedly increased in the region due to rapid industrial development, extreme climatic conditions and unfamiliar working environment. However, lack of reliable information on these unintentional injuries is mainly responsible for the underestimation of this trauma burden. This knowledge deficit shields the extent of the problem from policy makers, leading to continued fatalities. These preventable injuries in turn add to the overall financial burden on the society through loss of productivity and greater need of medical and welfare services.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the Arab Middle East, population-based studies on the incidence, mechanism of injury, prevention and outcome of BTI are not well-documented. Therefore, region-specific BTI studies would strengthen surveillance to better understand the burden of these injuries in the region.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Clinical Research, Trauma Surgery Section, Hamad General Hospital, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Asim
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Clinical Research, Trauma Surgery Section, Hamad General Hospital, Doha, Qatar ; Clinical Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Ayman
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: El-Menyar
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Trauma Surgery Section, Hamad General Hospital, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Al-Thani
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Trauma Surgery Section, Hamad General Hospital, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Husham
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Abdelrahman
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Trauma Surgery Section, Hamad General Hospital, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zarour
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Trauma Surgery Section, Hamad General Hospital, Doha, Qatar ; Department of Surgery, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA.
authors.forename: Rifat
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Latifi
keywords: Arab Middle East; blunt traumatic injuries; fall; pedestrians; road traffic accident