Back to Search
Start Over
Mechanism of Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury in Southwestern Uganda: A Prospective Cohort of 100 Patients.
- Source :
-
World neurosurgery [World Neurosurg] 2018 Jun; Vol. 114, pp. e396-e402. Date of Electronic Publication: 2018 Mar 10. - Publication Year :
- 2018
-
Abstract
- Background: Road traffic incidents (RTIs), falls, and violence contribute to more than two thirds of pediatric traumatic brain injuries in sub-Saharan Africa. In this study, we sought to assess mechanisms of pediatric traumatic brain injury in an effort to propose interventions for more effective pediatric head injury prevention.<br />Methods: A cohort of 100 patients who were <18 years treated at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital between November 2016 and June 2017 were enrolled in the study. Information on etiology of injury was obtained via a questionnaire administered to patient caretakers at the time of admission.<br />Results: The mean age was found to be 7.5 years (standard deviation 5.2) and 38% were female. In our sample, 61% had computed tomography imaging done, of whom 88.5% had a positive finding. A majority of patients presented with a mild head injury (55%). RTIs were the predominant mechanism of injury across age groups (75%). Across all age groups, falls were responsible for a greater proportion of injuries in children aged 10-14 years (13.3%), whereas the greatest proportion of intentional injuries was reported in age group 10-14 and 15-17 years, 20% and 31.3%, respectively. Patients involved in pedestrian RTIs were significantly younger compared with those injured in nonpedestrian RTIs. Most parents (87.9%) were not with their children at the time of a pedestrian RTI.<br />Conclusions: In Southwestern Uganda, the majority of pediatric neurotrauma patients are injured pedestrians, with no adult supervision at the time of the injury. Conducting a public awareness and education campaign on the necessity of child supervision is critical to decreasing pediatric head injuries in Uganda.<br /> (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
- Subjects :
- Adolescent
Age Distribution
Brain Injuries, Traumatic diagnostic imaging
Child
Child, Preschool
Cohort Studies
Female
Humans
Infant
Male
Surveys and Questionnaires
Tomography Scanners, X-Ray Computed
Uganda epidemiology
Accidents, Traffic
Brain Injuries, Traumatic epidemiology
Brain Injuries, Traumatic etiology
Violence
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1878-8769
- Volume :
- 114
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- World neurosurgery
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 29530703
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wneu.2018.02.191