Orthopedic Patient Characteristics, Management Patterns, and Clinical Outcomes in a Disaster-Prone Region

Datu Beru Hospital serves a geographically challenging, disaster-prone region of Central Aceh, where evidence on orthopedic case characteristics and referral practices remains limited. This study aimed to describe orthopedic patient characteristics, injury patterns, management indicators, and referral-based disposition between 2023 and 2025. A retrospective descriptive study analyzed medical records of 766 orthopedic cases using total sampling. Variables included presentation year, sex, anatomical injury location, long-bone involvement, injury mechanism, open or closed classification, and referral status. Frequencies, percentages, and descriptive cross-tabulations were used. The highest number of cases occurred in 2024 (339; 44.3%), and 482 patients (62.9%) were male. Hand injuries were most common (206; 26.9%), followed by leg (119; 15.5%) and foot injuries (89; 11.6%). Tibia-fibula injuries predominated among cases with documented long-bone involvement (116; 31.6%). Road traffic accidents were the leading documented mechanism (394; 57.4%), while closed injuries accounted for 314 cases (76.0%) with available classification data. Overall, 576 patients (75.2%) were managed without interfacility referral, whereas 190 (24.8%) were referred. Referral proportions were highest for spinal (90.9%), wrist (85.7%), and hip injuries (67.9%). These findings highlight the hospital's role in local orthopedic care and identify anatomical presentations requiring more frequent referral. However, incomplete medical records and the use of referral status rather than direct recovery measures limit conclusions about clinical outcomes. The findings support stronger trauma triage, specialized assessment, referral coordination, and disaster-responsive orthopedic preparedness in Central Aceh. Improved documentation of injury severity, treatment interventions, complications, and functional recovery would strengthen future regional evaluations of orthopedic service effectiveness.