Camel related injuries

Abstract

Background: Camel related injuries are not documented in this region. We report 14 cases of camel injuries as seen from the MARALAL Camel derby and 2 cases of camel road traffic accident. Methods: All patients seen with camel related injuries were studied. Patient’s demography, time of injury, mechanism of injury and distribution and severity of injury were studied. Results: A total of 16 patients, 10 males and 6 females with a median age of 24 years (8-65) years were studied. Camel kicks were most common (5), followed by fall from a camel(5)a camel bite(2),(2) patients of camel caused by road traffic accident and 2 patients were thrown off. Kick related injuries (5) had high rate of maxillofacial fractures. Spinal injuries occurred in the 2 patients of road traffic accidents. Conclusion: Understanding of the biomechanics and patient of injury and correlating them with camel behaviors is of importance for identifying and preventing camel related injuries.