An Epidemiological Study of Head Injuries in Patients Attending Sari Imam Khomeini Hospital, 2013- 2014

Background and Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are the most common types of accidents and a leading cause of death in victims. This study aimed to evaluate the attendance rate for traumatic brain injury among patients who referred to Sari Imam Khomeini Hospital 2013 - 2014. In a descriptive study 1304 patients with head injury attending the hospital were studied. A questionnaire was completed for each patient considering demographic characteristics, time of injury, GCS, brain CT scan findings, and associated injuries. Data was then analyzed in SPSS V. 17. The majority of victims aged 20 to 30 years of old (29.6 %) and most of them were male (9.67%). Traffic accidents were the main cause of trauma (75.2%) of which most occurred with motor cycle (40%). Winter was the most eventful season (36.9%) and most of the injuries occurred between the hours of 1800 and 2400 (48%). Most injuries were associated with trauma to the face (3.2%). Brain CT scan was found normal in 33.1%. The most common abnormal brain CT scan was skull fracture (18%). Among the subjects 8.7% had severe brain injury and death occurred in 4.1% while hemorrhage was the main cause (2.5%). The brain injury was severe in 34 patients (29.8%), moderate in four patients (4.5%) and mild in 14 patients (1.3%). Our study showed traffic accidents as the main cause of head injuries. Therefore, preventing road accidents could reduce the rate of head injuries.