Trauma consultations in a Swiss tertiary emergency department: Comparison of asylum seekers and the local population—Patient characteristics and patterns of injuries, a retrospective study

Author(s) : Anne Jachmann, Rabia Saffuri, Henk Eijer, Adam D. Brown, Evika Karamagioli, Emmanouil Pikoulis, Aristomenis Exadaktylos, Karsten Klingberg, David Srivastava

Source : https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0277418

Abstract:

In 2017, accidents and other acts of violence were the fifth most common cause of death in Switzerland. Moreover, there are increasing numbers of refugees and asylum seekers (AS), who often exhibit distinct disease profiles from those of the natives of the host country. If these differences could be clearly identified, this might help to develop and implement strategies to prevent injuries in health care programs for refugees and asylum seekers. The aim of this study was to examine the types and characteristics of physical trauma profiles in patients from the two largest groups of AS in Switzerland–from Eastern Africa (EA) and the Middle East (ME)–who consulted a Swiss Emergency Department (ED) in 2017/2018. Furthermore, the physical trauma profiles of Swiss national (SN) patients were examined in order to explore potential differences.

Keywords: Traumatic injury, Critical care and emergency medicine, Switzerland, Primary care, Refugees, Africa, Patients, Sports and exercise medicine