The Luxembourg Ministry of Health's second RETRACE report has found that 263 deaths in the Grand Duchy are caused by trauma each year.
The second RETRACE report, published by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH), has shown that trauma is the leading cause of death for under 44s, both in Luxembourg and beyond.
Trauma from accidental injuries such as those caused by traffic accidents, drownings, falls or burns, as well as from acts of violence, have been found to cause more than five million deaths each year worldwide. Meanwhile, millions of others who survive still suffer from such traumas.
The RETRACE report was based on a survey of injuries and accidents carried out in the emergency services of the country's hospitals. In 2014, the emergency services of three of the four hospitals in Luxembourg (CHL, CHEM and CHdN) participated in the survey. National estimates were subsequently based on data from these three participating hospitals in 2014, as well as data collected from all Luxembourgish hospitals in 2013.
Some key findings of this second report show that 263 people in Luxembourg die annually due to trauma, while 516 have been hospitalised for trauma. Moreover, residents were found to account for 89% of trauma cases, whilst the proportion of cross-border workers suffering from trauma was higher in the professionally active age groups. The annual incidence of trauma cases was estimated at 105 cases of trauma per 1,000 people.
Indeed, the RETRACE trauma surveillance system was introduced in Luxembourg in 2012 as part of the Ministry of Health’s health prevention and promotion policy to provide a comprehensive census of data on trauma in the country. The system forms part of the European IDB (Injury Data Base) methodology currently applied by 26 countries.
The RETRACE 2014 report is available online via the Health Portal: www.sante.lu.
