Common causes and management outcomes of traumatic brain injury among patients presented to AaBET Hospital

Abstract

Abstract Overview: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an insult to the brain caused by external forces resulting in impairments in cognitive, physical, emotional and behavioral functioning. It is responsible for high rates of morbidity and mortality, constituting an important issue of public health throughout the world. This type of trauma includes a wide spectrum of severity, from injuries that lead the patient to death even before medical attention, to lighter impacts, for which victims seek emergency services. In the European Union countries, generalized injuries are responsible for the largest number of years of life with disability and are one of three major traumatic causes for cost generation to the health system. This study would add basic information about the situation in AaBET hospital and in the country in general helps for making recommendation towards the problem. Objective: To assess common causes and management outcomes of brain injury during discharge at AaBET hospital in Addis Ababa from July 1, 2016 till December 31, 2016. Methods and Materials: This study was a retrospective analysis of patients diagnosed with traumatic brain injury and admitted to AaBET hospital from July 01, 2016 to December 31, 2016.Three hundred and fifty six (356) patient’s charts was selected. Data was collected from charts of patients in the study population using data collection instrument. Data from charts was entered to SPSS 20.0 analyzed for different socio-demographic variables were done. The result of this research will be presented to SPHMMC department of public health. After its approval, it will be disseminated to different departments of the college and journals. Results: For this study 356 study subjects were used after sampling methods implemented. Three common Mechanisms of injuries noticed; Road traffic accidents 168(47.2%), Interpersonal fights 145(40.7%), Falling down accidents 36(10.1%). Among study subjects 279 (78.4%) were diagnosed with mild TBI, 41 (11.5%) moderate TBI and 36 (10.1%) with severe TBI. After admission 89(25%) patients developed some of the complications. 33(37%) patients developed Increased ICP, 23(25.8%) had hypotension, 18(20.2%) complicated with hypoxia and 15(16.8%) had some of other complications like amnesia, difficulty of vision, electrolyte abnormalities etc. After admitted and managed accordingly 302(84.8%) patients improved and discharged, 29(9.6%) died, 12(3.3%) admitted to ICU. Conclusion: From total of 4076 patients seen during the study period 474 were diagnosed with TBI making prevalence of 11.63%. Road traffic accidents, fights, falling down were found commonest causes of TBI. Severity of brain injury, additional diagnosis and other complications developed during hospital stay were found to have significant association with the outcome of TBI patients. Recommendation: Is recommended that the administrator offices and Road traffic authority should give training to the society and drivers about RTA. It is also recommended to create awareness to the society about outcomes of TBI. Key words: Road traffic accidents, TBI, Outcome, AaBET hospital