Assessment of magnitude and factors affecting outcomes of head injury at Addis Ababa burn emergency and trauma hospital, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Head injury is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide and has become one of the highest community health problems worldwide including Ethiopia. This study aims to assess the magnitude and factors affecting the outcome of head injury patients at Addis Ababa burn and emergency treatment Hospital from 01 January 2018 to 31 December 2019. Methods: A retrospective review was conducted on a patient who had a head injury and visited Addis Ababa burn and emergency treatment Hospital, from 01 January 2018 to 31 December 2019. Results: There were 2163 head injury patients making the incidence of head injury 29.6%. The commonest cause of injury is road traffic accidents accounting for 89 (43.8%) and most patients sustained blunt injury 65 (32%).The commonest computed tomography (CT)-scan finding was intracerebral hemorrhage in 51 (25.1%) patients. Most head injury patients 112 (55.2%) stayed less than 1 week and the commonest complication was meningitis that occurred in 56 (27.6%) of patients. On presentation to hospital 90 (44.3%) had a mild type of traumatic brain injury. There is a significant correlation seen between gender, occupation, and severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) with the outcome of head injury (p<0.05). Conclusions: Early diagnosis and interventions contributed to the good outcome of the patient. Establishing trauma centers at least in major cities can improve the outcome of head injury patients, by giving early treatment and using ambulances which are used for transportation of laboring mothers also might facilitate early referrals of patients to best centers.