Evaluation of Clinical Characteristics and Costs of Patients Applied to the Emergency Department Due to Occupational Accidents

Aim: An occupational accident is defined as an event that takes place in the workplace and results in disability or death due to the trauma sustained. It is characterised by an exodus of the workforce, a corresponding financial burden, and repercussions for the health systems of countries and the budgets of institutions. In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the demographic data and hospital costs of patients admitted to the emergency department due to occupational accidents. Methods: The study was conducted in accordance with the approval of the ethics committee. Patients who had been admitted to the emergency department of Mustafa Kemal University Hospital with injuries due to occupational accidents were evaluated. Demographic data, time of presentation, body parts injured and healthcare costs were analysed by using IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 22 software for frequency values and categorical analyses. Results: 150 patients were observed in the emergency department; 124 (82.66%) of these were male.The mean age of these patients was 36.5±10.4 years. The most common occupational accident was piercing and cutting tool injury in 41 patients (27.33%). The triage code of 52.67% of the patients (n=79) followed up in the emergency department was green. The majority of cases was observed between 8 am-4pm hours, the first shift of the day. No significant difference was observed between shifts (p=0.6875). Patients were most frequently admitted in January (n=16) 10.67%. The upper extremity injuries were the most common cases with 53.3%. Pelvis was the least traumatised body part with a rate of 6%. While mortality was not observed in the patients followed up, 96.67% of the patients were discharged from the emergency department. The mean cost of the patients health care was 16.7 ± 19.5 USD, based on the 2020 average exchange rate of 7.0 TL/USD . Conclusion: Measures should be taken and trainings should be increased to prevent head, upper and lower extremity injuries, which can be seen frequently in occupational accidents. We believe that this will be effective in reducing morbidity, mortality and cost.