BACKGROUND: South Africa has one of the most violent societies worldwide. The national homicide rate is 34 per 100 000; young males form the majority of this cohort. Comprehensive injury surveillance in low and middle-income countries is limited and there is paucity of data describing the epidemiology and outcomes of intentional injuries within the juvenile population.
METHOD: Ethical approval was obtained for this study. The Electronic Trauma Health Registry (eTHR) Application of the Trauma Centre at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town was interrogated over an 18-month period (April 2014 - December 2016) for all patients (aged 12-19 years) treated for non-accidental trauma. The data was then analysed using descriptive statistics.
RESULTS: Over the study period, 2903 juvenile patients were admitted to the trauma centre. Intentional injuries (= 1387; 47.8%) accounted for nearly half of the study cohort. Complete datasets were available for 1295 patients. Within this cohort 210 (16.2%) patients were victims of gang‑related violence. Penetrating injuries were seen in 878 (67.8%) patients, of whom 401 (45.7%) sustained knife injuries and 329 patients (37.5%) sustained gunshot wounds. The most affected body region was the head (n= 388; 30%), followed by the thorax (n= 311; 24%). Permanent disability resulting directly from injury was seen in 5.2% (n = 66) of the patients who survived (n= 1266) and the overall mortality was 2.2% (n = 29).
CONCLUSION: Intentional injuries are common within the juvenile population group in Cape Town. Penetrating injuries and gang-related activities account for a large subset of these patients. Whilst the overall mortality is only 2.2%, the permanent disability rate is 5.2% and is likely to have significant public health and economic ramifications for the South African health care system in the future.