A retrospective review of farm injuries presenting to an Irish hospital emergency department in 2013.
BACKGROUND
The agricultural and equestrian businesses are an important source of employment in the Midlands. This is a retrospective study examining the demographics, characteristics, and outcomes of agricultural and equestrian related injuries presenting to the Midland Regional Hospital, Tullamore, Co. Offaly. There were a total of 30,700 attendances to the Emergency Department for 2013.


OBJECTIVE
This study is an epidemiological review of agricultural injuries, their mechanisms, and consequences presenting to a rural regional hospital over a 1 year period.


METHODS
Every presentation to the Accident and Emergency Department at the Midlands Regional Hospital in 2013 was assessed retrospectively to determine if an injury had been sustained in an agricultural environment. Patient demographics, month of occurrence, mechanism of injury, radiology results, management, and follow-up data were collected and analysed using Microsoft Excel.


RESULTS
There were 144 agricultural-related presentations to the Accident and Emergency Department. 23% of the agricultural injuries were identified as having a radiological abnormality. There were significantly more males involved in agricultural injuries than females (97 vs 3%). 16% of presentations required admission or transfer to tertiary specialist care and 8% required surgical intervention. Farming machinery accidents contributed to more admissions than any other cause in the agricultural category and resulted in more surgical interventions.


CONCLUSIONS
Our study has identified high-risk mechanisms of injury, which should alert clinicians to the potential for significant injury. In addition, our findings could be used to help policy makers promote safety and awareness through public health policies that target high-risk practices with appropriate training and legislation.
Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore, Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland.
A
A
Abdulkarim
Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore, Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland. patrickcarroll@rcsi.ie.
P
P
Carroll
Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore, Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland.
P
P
Coffey
Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore, Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland.
E
E
Sheehan
D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000072480:Farms / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000628:therapy*
Accident and emergency; Agricultural injuries; Epidemiology; Farm accident; Public health; Rural hospital; Surgery; Trauma