Abstract
Little is known about the magnitude of hand injuries at national levels. This paper quantifies and characterises the incidence of hand injuries that require acute medical attention at Emergency Departments in the Netherlands and Denmark. Except for the incidence rate and the referral after treatment, the overall picture of hand injuries is similar for both countries: hand injuries show a peak for teenagers, result mainly from home and leisure accidents, are mainly caused by objects and falls, the majority affect fingers and result mainly in superficial injuries, open wounds and fractures, a small proportion of the victims is admitted into hospital. We conclude that hand injuries are a real burden to society and are worthwhile to be prevented with special attention for home and leisure accidents and occupational accidents. Data recording on the backgrounds of accidents and their long term consequences should be improved.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Consumer Safety Institute. LIS Dutch Injury Surveillance System. Amsterdam: Consumer Safety Institute, 2001.
Hout E, Hutten A, Hoyinck S, Schoots W. Kwaliteit LIS-gegevens. Stichting Consument en Veiligheid, 2001.
Campbell AS. Hand injuries at leisure. Hand Surg 1985; 10: 300-302.
Jørgensen HRI, Elberg JJ, Larsen CF. Håndskader: To skadestuematerialer fra Odense og Abenraa. Ugeskr Laeger 1987; 149: 1017-1020.
Nieminen S, Nurme M, Isberg U. Hand injuries in Finland. Scand Plast Reconstr Surg 1981; 15: 57-60.
Oostrom CAM, Houpt P. Vijftig jaar plastische chirurgie in Nederland: Ogenschijnlijk kleine ongevallen: grote handletsels. Ned Tijdsch Geneeskd 2000; 144(21): 961-965.
Smith ME, Auchincloss JM, Ali MS. Causes and consequences of hand injury. J Hand Surg 1985; 10: 288-292.
Svensson HO, Axelsson R, Edshage S. Handskador vid kirugisk akutmottagning. Läkartidningen 1985; 82(41): 3496-3498.
Angermann P, Lohmann M. Injuries to the hand and wrist: A study of 50,272 injuries. J Hand Surg 1995; 18: 642-644.
Burke FD, Dias JJ, Lunn PG, Bradley M. Providing care for hand disorders: Trauma and elective. The Derby Hand Unit experience. Hand Surg 1991; 16: 13-18.
Elberg JJ, Jørgensen HRI, Larsen CF. Håndskader: epidemiologi, medicinske og ekonomiske konsekvenser. Ugeskr Laeger 1987; 149: 1096-1099.
Marty J, Porcher B, Autissier R. Traumatismes de la main et accidents du travail. Statistiques et prevention. Ann Chir Main 1983; 2: 368-370.
Prismant. Dutch Information System on Hospital Care and Day Nursing (LMR). http:www.sig.nl. 1997–1998.
Mulder S, Beeck EF van, Meerding WJ. New directions in injury surveillance: Development of a model for continuous monitoring of direct medical costs. Int J Consum Safety 1999; 6: 11-23.
Mulder S, Meerding WJ, Beeck EF van. Setting priorities in injury prevention: The application of an incidence-based cost model. Injury Prevent 2002; 8: 74-78.
Consumer Safety Institute. Data Dictionary: International Classification of External Causes of Injuries (ICECI): Version 1.0. Amsterdam: Consumer Safety Institute, 2002.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Larsen, C.F., Mulder, S., Johansen, A.M.T. et al. The Epidemiology of Hand Injuries in the Netherlands and Denmark. Eur J Epidemiol 19, 323–327 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:EJEP.0000024662.32024.e3
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:EJEP.0000024662.32024.e3