Johns Hopkins International Injury Research Unit Publishes Results of Pilot Study from Cameroon

Injuries cause more than five million deaths every year, with more than 90% occurring in low- and middle-income countries; injury rates in sub-Saharan Africa are among the highest in the world. 

Although developing countries are disproportionately affected by trauma, information on patterns of injury is scarce in these settings.  For example, an analysis of administrative data in a level III trauma center in Cameroon revealed that fundamental information on patient demographics and clinical conditions were frequently absent.

In response to this lack of accurate information, Johns Hopkins International Injury Research Unit (JH-IIRU) team members, including associate director, Kent Stevens, director Adnan Hyder, and former JH-IIRU postdoctoral fellow, Catherine Julliard, conducted a pilot study on prospective trauma registry data in that country. The results have been published in a recent issue of the World Journal of Surgery.

The study aimed to create and test a prospective trauma registry to expand the data collected on injury and trauma care at the Central Hospital of Yaoundé, a busy tertiary center in the capital city of Cameroon. The results would be used to inform planning for a sustainable trauma registry in this and similar settings.

The prospective method allows for collection of broader information on patient care and outcomes that not available through retrospective administrative data. Critical information, such as more specific demographic information; information on types of treatments delivered in the emergency department ED; information on outcomes and surgical interventions; and injury scoring.

The results of the study demonstrate that the quality and quantity of data available through a prospective surveillance system allows for more extensive information and can thus be used to advocate for injury prevention and treatment policy.

To access, “Analysis of Prospective Trauma Registry Data in Francophone Africa: A Pilot Study from Cameroon,” in the World Journal of Surgery, click here.