Background Injuries are the leading cause of hospitalisation in Sri Lanka. The Accident and Orthopaedic Service (AOS) in the National Hospital of Sri Lanka (NHSL) is the largest trauma care centre in the country. In 2008, an injury surveillance system (ISS) was established at the NHSL. Objective of this study was to present the results of the injury surveillance at NHSL from 2009 to 2012.

Methods Data were extracted from the ISS database for the period between 2009 and 2012 and were analysed to provide descriptive statistics.

Results In total, 80,718 patient records were available from 2009 to 2012, with injuries. Of them, 73.0% were male and 27.0% were female. Majority of injuries were unintentional (85.2%). Other types of injuries were injuries due to violence (13.4%) and self-harm (1.4%). Of unintentional injuries, transport injuries accounted to 33.1%, and 66.9% were non-transport injuries. Falls accounted for 62.8% of all non-transport injuries. Two or three wheeled vehicles crashes, non-collision injuries, heavy vehicle crashes, and car crashes accounted for 28.1%, 27.0%, 15.1%, and 12.9% of transport injuries respectively. Of all the injuries, 37.6% occurred in sports areas, and 34.4% happened at homes. Of self-inflicted injuries, 37.2% were done under the influence of alcohol. Severe injuries were seen in 1.5% and 80.3% were moderate in severity. Of all the admissions, 53.3% stayed in the hospital for less than 24 hours. Majority of injured (88.7%) took more than an hour to reach the hospital.

Conclusion Unintentional injuries are common in Sri Lanka. Because non- transport injuries accounted for 67% of unintentional injuries, and falls were the commonest of them, policies should be introduced make environments safe and prevent such injuries. Because majority of injured were unable to reach a health facility within the golden first hour, reasons for this delay should be investigated and addressed. Interventions should be taken to prevent injuries at sports areas and homes.