OBJECTIVEInjury is a major neglected health problem in developing countries. The first step in dealing with injury problem is to identify the injury patterns and characteristics. Therefore, we aimed to demonstrate the current status of trauma admissions to hospitals in Shiraz, as a major city of Iran.

METHODSA hospital-based study was conducted in 2002. All injured patients admitted during 6 months in emergency departments of two general hospitals of Shiraz, Nemazi and Chamran were included.

RESULTSA total of 1,765 injured patients were registered during the study period, with mean age of 33 years. Manual workers were the most vulnerable group among occupational categories. Inner-city roads were the most common place of injury and traffic accident was the major cause of injury. Overally, falling injury was the second common cause of injury in males and the first cause in females (especially at the age of over 60).

CONCLUSIONAs other studies conducted in our society, traffic accidents are the major cause of morbidity and mortality and this can emphasize on the obligation to take legislative action in the field of driving and road safety, directing resources and educating the public and raising the awareness of the community in prevention of this iceberg-like problem.