Head Trauma in Infants: Experience of a High Flow Tertiary Hospital in a Developing Country

Abstract

Background and Objective: Head trauma in infants is a common health problem that has not been the focus of many research articles. The aim of study was to describe the epidemiology, etiology, management and clinical outcome of head trauma in infants (<2 years) in a high flow tertiary hospital. Patients and Methods: This study was conducted on 95 consecutive infants with head trauma admitted to the neurotrauma unit in Cairo University hospitals during the period between September 2013 and December 2014. The data of these patients including age, sex, mode of trauma, neurological status on admission, CT findings, operative details in surgical cases, clinical outcome, and length of hospital stay were analyzed. Results: The study included 57 boys and 38 girls, with mean age of 13.2 months (range: 3 days-23 months). The most common mode of trauma was falls (82.1%). Most of the patients had mild head injury (84.2%). Twenty two patients were operated upon, including 9 patients for evacuation of hematomas, 11 patients for elevation of depressed fractures, 1 patient for decompressive craniotomy and 1 patient for growing skull fracture. Good recovery followed in 83 patients. There were 4 deaths. Mean length of stay was 4 days (range: 1-31 days). Conclusion: Most of head injuries in infants are mild. The commonest etiology is falls, which is a preventable cause in many circumstances. The majority of these patients do not require surgical intervention. Good recovery is the rule in most of these infants with low mortality rates.