An Overview of Musculoskeletal Injuries for Emergency Physicians
Musculoskeletal trauma includes injuries affecting the pelvis, upper and lower limbs.
These injuries occur in a large number of multiply-injured patients and, as such,
are often underestimated, incorrectly treated, and occasionally undiagnosed.
This leads to increased morbidity, mortality, and permanent dyes function of the affected limb.
Herein, the authors discuss the most common injuries and those that cause life threat or limb loss,
intending to schematize the first aid to extremity trauma in the Emergency Room.
Although, the definitive treatment of fractures and joint injuries is managed by the orthopedist, the first steps properly taken by the emergency physician are essential for an accurate prognosis and appropriate triage.
Trauma is the leading causes of death in people under 44 years of age.
Musculoskeletal trauma occurs in 85% of those patients experiencing such trauma
In the USA, 80,000 people per year sustain traumatic injuries and suffer permanent disability.
The mechanisms of injury can vary from automotive collisions along with injuries attributed to rapid vertical deceleration and gunshot wounds.
Easily identifying a patient’s group may help emergency physicians to deliver safer care and prevent iaotrogenic
injuries.
The assistance to trauma victim begins with obtaining a concise history of the accident,
which may be provided by the patient themselves or by others and by evaluating the mechanism of trauma – provided by pre-hospital care team.
Regarding patients in Group 1, it is essential to obtain vital information about
the accident and the body region injured, which the patient will identify
as painful and/or with a functional disability.
Emerg Med Open J . 2015; 1(3): 77-88. doi: 10.17140/EMOJ-1-113