Body parts injured

Emergency Department presentations

  • 1611.8 1322.1 908.8 Head/Neck Hand Shoulder/UL

    ED presentations 2023-24

    The three most frequent body parts injured in ED presentations were

    1. the head and neck 
    2. the wrist and hand
    3. the shoulder and upper limb (UL) 

    Chart presents age-standardised rates per 100,000 population

Looking at ED presentations by the type of injury and body parts injured in 2023-24 (Figure 15), unspecified injuries were most common across multiple affected body parts, while fractures were commonly recorded for limbs, with upper limb fractures presenting more than lower limb fractures. Head and neck injuries frequently had the type of injury unspecified or were recorded as open wounds.

Figure 15: Age-standardised rate of ED presentations by type of injury and body part injured, Australia, 2023–24

Figure 15 shows that when specified, the most common type of ED presentation are fractures of the shoulder or upper limb, followed by open wounds to the head and neck

Notes:

  1. Matrix of age-standardised rates of body parts injured by type of injury.
  2. Age-standardised rates per 100,000 population.
  3. Body part injured: Trunk includes thorax, abdomen, lower back, lumbar spine & pelvis), Shoulder and upper limb excludes hand and wrist, Other includes multiple and incompletely specified body regions, Not specified includes injuries not described in terms of body location, Hip and lower limb excludes ankle and foot.
  4. Type of injury: Foreign object through orifice, Other includes specified and/or multiple injuries. 

Sources: AIHW National Non-admitted Patient Emergency Department Care Database, state and territory population.

The most common principal diagnoses for injury ED presentations varied across age groups. 

  • Children aged 0–4

    The most common ED principal diagnosis in children aged 0–4 in 2023–24 was open wound of head.

  • Children aged 5–14

    The most common ED principal diagnosis in children aged 5–14 in 2023–24 was fracture at wrist and hand level.

  • Young people aged 15–24

    The most common ED principal diagnosis in young people aged 15–24 in 2023–24 was dislocation, sprain and strain of joints and ligaments at ankle and foot level.

  • Adults aged 25–44

    The most common ED principal diagnosis in adults aged 25–44 in 2023–24 was injury of unspecified body region.

  • Adults aged 45–64

    The most common ED principal diagnosis in adults aged 45–64 in 2023–24 was open wound of wrist and hand.

  • Adults aged 65 and over

    The most common ED principal diagnosis in adults aged 65 and over in 2023–24 was fracture of femur.

Injury hospitalisations

  • 469.8 436.9 367.4 Head/Neck Hip/LL Shoulder/UL

    Injury hospitalisations 2023-24

    Across all ages, the top three body parts injured were:

    1. head and neck 
    2. hip and lower limb (LL)
    3. shoulder and upper limb (UL)

    Chart shows age-standardised rates per 100,000 population. See Figure 16 for more detail.

  • Injury hospitalisations among people aged 65 and over were most likely to be for:

    1. head and neck injuries (crude rate of 1,145.0 per 100,000 population)
    2. hip and lower limb injuries (crude rates of 1,115.5 per 100,000 population)

Figure 16: Number of injury hospitalisations by main body part injured, Australia, 2023–24

Graph of a human figure with injury hospitalisation data for each body part. Head and neck reported the highest number of injury cases.

Graph of a human figure with injury hospitalisation data for each body part. Head and neck reported the highest number of injury cases.

Note: Cases of hospitalisations are represented at person level with highlighted body parts.

Source: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database

Persons aged 65 and over and young children aged 0-4 were the most likely to sustain injuries to the head and neck (1,145.0 and 717.0 per 100,000, respectively).

Overall, persons aged 65 years and over reported the highest crude rates of injuries across all body parts apart from the ankle and foot, injuries not described in terms of body location, and the wrist and hand. Persons aged 15-24 reported the highest crude rate of 126.4 per 100,000 population for injuries to the ankle and foot, 246.5 per 100,000 for injuries not described in terms of body location, and 472.2 per 100,000 population for injuries to the wrist and hand.

Fractures were the most common type of injury across body parts in 2023-24 (Figure 17). Open wounds were the second commonest type of injury overall, frequently affecting the wrist and hand (117.1 per 100,000 population), and the head and neck (102.8 per 100,000 population).

Figure 17: Age-standardised rate of injury hospitalisations by body parts and type of injury, Australia, 2023–24

Figure 17 shows a heatmap of body parts and type of injuries with ASR. Fractures were the main type of injury across most body parts

Notes:

  1. Matrix of age-standardised rates of body parts injured by type of injury.
  2. Age-standardised rates per 100,000 population.
  3. Rates under 1 are omitted.
  4. Body part injured: Trunk includes thorax, abdomen, lower back, lumbar spine & pelvis), Shoulder and upper limb excludes hand and wrist, Other includes multiple and incompletely specified body regions, Not specified includes injuries not described in terms of body location, Hip and lower limb excludes ankle and foot.
  5. Type of injury: Foreign object through orifice, Other includes specified and/or multiple injuries.

Sources: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database and ABS National, state and territory population.

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