Epidemiology and treatment outcome of head injury in children: A prospective study

Abstract

Summary:Head injury in children is a major concern all over the world. The increasing level of poverty in the world is exposing more children to trauma situations. The future consequences of trauma in these children are enormous, hence prevention they say, is better than cure.Aim of the Study:The study was designed to determine the etiological pattern, age group affectation and treatment outcome in children managed for head injury in our center.Methods:It was a prospective, descriptive and cross-sectional study of children with head injuries managed in our center from July 2010 to December 2013. Data were collected using structured proforma that was part of our prospective Data Bank approved by our hospital Research and Ethics Committee. Data were collected in accident and emergency unit, Intensive Care Unit, wards and out-patient clinic. The data was analyzed using Epi Info 7 software.Results:Total of 76 children managed by the unit and followed-up to a minimum of 3 months qualified for the study. There were 42 males. The age ranged from 7 months to 18 years with a mean of 8.66 years. There were 30 adolescent/teenagers. Road traffic accident formed 63.15%. Pedestrian accident was more among preschool and school children. Thirty-seven patients had mild head injury. Sixty-six patients were managed conservatively. The commonest posttraumatic effect was seizure (15.79%). Good functional outcome (≥4) was seen in 92.1%. Mode of accident and severity of injury affected the outcome.Conclusions:The etiologies of traumatic brain injury, from our study, were age dependent with falls commonest in toddlers and pedestrian accident commonest in pre-school and school ages. The outcome of treatment was related to severity of injury.

Pattern and Outcome of Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury at Hawassa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Southern Ethiopia: Observational Cross-Sectional Study

“…Concerning mechanisms of injury, unintentional pedestrian RTA and falls were the most common causes followed by intentional fights/violence injuries. is is in line with most of the studies done in developing countries [2,8,18,22,30,34,[37][38][39].…”

“…Most of our study subjects presented within 24 hours of injury and had a mild form of TBI. is is in harmony with reports from Nigeria and Tunisia [30,34,38,40]. However, severe TBI was the most common form in other Nigerian and Tunisian studies.…”

“…is is higher than the Indian and Chinese studies [37,42]. It is lower than the Nigerian and South African studies [34,39,41]. Ten (3.2%, 95% CI: 1.5-5.7%) of our study subjects died.…”

“…is finding is in agreement with Nigerian, South African, and Tunisian studies. is could be related to boy's risk-prone behavior resulting in high energy transfer and their outdoor engagement [14,30,[34][35][36][37]. Concerning mechanisms of injury, unintentional pedestrian RTA and falls were the most common causes followed by intentional fights/violence injuries.…”

Childhood trauma, disability, hospital charges and prevention

“…A recent study of head injury in children from Nigeria [1] showed an age range from 7 months to 18 years with a mean of 8.66 years. Road traffic accident represented 63.15% of the cases, while pedestrian accident was more frequent among preschool and school children.…”