Background Trauma registries play an integral role in the assessment of quality of trauma care and hospital based injury surveillance. We present the results of pilot study of a locally developed electronic “Karachi Trauma Registry”(KITR) conducted in an urban tertiary care hospital of Karachi, Pakistan.

Methods Data for KITR was collected over a three months period from November 2010 to January 2011. All patients who presented through the Emergency Department (ED), Aga Khan University, Karachi Pakistan with a diagnosis of injury as defined in ICD-9. Basic demographics, injury details, hospital course and outcome were recorded. The registry based analysis was done to determine the patient characteristics injury severity, probability of survival and outcome.

Results Data of 542 patients was entered and analyzed. Their mean age was 27 years and 72.5 % were males. About 87% had blunt injury while 13% had penetrating injuries. Fall followed by motor vehicle crashes were the most common mechanisms of injury. Head and face were the most frequently injured anatomical regions. The mean Injury Severity Score was 4.99 and 97% had TRISS of >50%. 287 (53%) patients had no disability, 245 (45.2%) had temporary handicap and 10 (1.84%) had permanent handicap at the time of discharge. Pre-hospital time in 81% of cases was < 4 hours and mean ED length of stay was 31 hours.

Significance The registry shows that most patients had minor injuries with high probability of survival; however delays in presentation and disposition can affect the outcome.