Citation

Stranjalis G, Bouras T, Korfias S, Andrianakis I, Pitaridis M, Tsamandouraki K, Alamanos Y, Sakas DE, Marmarou A. J. Trauma 2008; 65(4): 789-793.

Affiliation

Department of Neurosurgery, University of Athens, Evangelismos Hospital, Athens, Greece. stranjal@otenet.gr

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/TA.0b013e3181469e26

PMID

18849792

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to establish a head trauma registry to (a) examine demographics, etiology, severity, clinical course, and outcome; (b) compare results with previous published series; (c) identify causes of bad outcomes; and (d) propose methods to improve therapy and prognosis. METHODS: The following data were collected on 1,000 consecutive victims with head injury over 14 years of age admitted during a 4-year period: demographic characteristics, cause of injury, clinical variables, neuroimaging, therapy data, and outcome in 6 months. RESULTS: Seventy-four percent were men, and mean age was 43 years. Seventy-one percent suffered injuries due to road crashes, 14% due to alcohol, and 2% due to substances. The secondary transfer rate was 49%. For severe injuries, the time intervals from incident to hospital and subsequently to neurosurgical unit were 35 minutes and 4 hours, respectively. In 65% and 72% of cases, there was no record of preresuscitation hypoxia or hypotension, respectively, whereas suspected or definite episodes of hypoxia and hypotension were 27% and 13%, respectively. Most cases were mild trauma (63%), the remaining were severe (26%) and moderate (11%) injuries. Severe systemic trauma coexisted in 18%. Cranial surgery rate was 19% and it increased to 39% in severe trauma. The 6-month overall good outcome was 71%, with lower rates in moderate (58%) and severe (24%) injuries. CONCLUSIONS: The organization of Greece's first head injury registry offered an important preliminary core data concerning brain trauma etiology, management, and long-term outcome.

Language: en