Iatreia · Published 2025-01-01 · DOI 10.17533/udea.iatreia.304
Introduction: Scythe injuries represent a significant public health issue, with patients affected either for not using personal protective equipment or for not knowing how to use it effectively. Objective: To characterize patients who received treatment for lower limb injuries caused by scything at a second-level hospital. Materials and methods: A descriptive and retrospective observational study of patients seen from January 1, 2019, to August 31, 2020, was conducted. Results: We obtained 63 patients with scythe injuries, all male and aged between 15 and 74 years, with 18.84% classified as occupational accidents. The areas most affected were the foot (63.49%), ankle (9.54%), leg (25.39%), and knee (1.58%). Of the patients, 74.62% required surgery and osteosynthesis. The most frequent complications were amputation (7.93%) and surgical site infection (1.50%); however, the remaining 92.06% had no complications. The consequences presented were limb loss, limping, and gait impairment. Only 1.72% of them had used personal protective equipment. Conclusions: The use of personal protective equipment, education in the proper use of scythes, and instruction in the handling of scythes would reduce the traumas associated with this activity.
Abstract from DOAJ. Public domain (CC0 1.0).
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