Citation

Muyembe VM, Suleman N. East Afr. Med. J. 1999; 76(4): 200-205.

Affiliation

Provincial General Hospital, Nyeri, Kenya.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, Nairobi Medical Association of East Africa)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

10442101

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To review the pattern of head injuries, their management and the outcome. DESIGN: A retrospective and prospective descriptive study. SETTING: The Surgical Department, the Intensive Care Unit and the Mortuary at the Provincial General Hospital, Nyeri, Kenya. SUBJECTS: Three hundred and sixty one patients who were seen in the above units with any element of head injury from January 1995 to June 1996. RESULTS: Two hundred and fifty (69.3%) patients were admitted, treated and discharged. Eleven (3.0%) patients died in hospital while 100 (27.7%) were brought in dead. Head injuries accounted for 8.3% of the total admissions to the surgical wards. Road traffic accidents and assault were responsible for over 70% of the head injuries seen. Scalp wounds (52.6%) and fracture of the skull (47.9%) formed the commonest components of head injury. Skull X-rays films were the leading investigation done for head injury. A low Glascow coma scale was associated with a poor outcome. CONCLUSION: Head injuries are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in our set-up, especially in the young.

Language: en