CHARACTERISTICS OF MODERATE AND SEVERE HEAD INJURIES AT EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT HUE CENTRAL HOSPITAL

Abstract

Background: Head injury is one of common trauma at ED. It is also main cause of dead and disability of trauma. In Vietnam, accident traffic is most common cause of head injury. ED admits a large number of moderate and severe head injury patients everyday. These injuries can result in physical and mental consequences because of traumatic brain injury (TBI); burden to family and society. However, there is not a consensus in statistics of cause, severe symptom, risk factors to severity and short-term outcome at these patients. Objectives: assessement of cause, symptom and risk factors of moderate and severe head injuries as well as presentations of CT scanner. Materials and Methods: This is a cross sectional study. Population of interest: Patients with trauma who transported to ED of Hue Central Hospital and classified as moderate and severe head injuries were chosen conveniently into the study. Inclusion criteria: Patients with trauma by any reason; Glasgow score≤13, Sample size: There was not limitation of case number. Results: There were 50 patients with severe and moderate head injury. Main cause of trauma was traffic accident (92.2%). Patients were transported to ED by private vehicles (84,3%). Mean age of male was 38.20±14.28, female was 33.00±17.82 (p>0.05). Most of accident were not witnessed by family and not rescued by bystanders. There was an evaluable concentration of plasma ethanol in 88.2% of patients with mean level of 33.99±21.88 mmol/L in male and 12.90±19.98 mmol/L in female (p<0.05). Ethanol levels in severe head trauma were lower than ones in moderate head trauma (p<0.001). Ethanol levels were not different in patients with different lesions on CT scanners (p>0.05). It existed a correlation between Glasgow score and ethanol levels (r=0.43, p<0.01). Expired rate of patient at ED was 21.6%. Conclusion: Main cause of trauma was traffic accident (99.2%). There were 88.2% of patients used ethanol before trauma; 15.7% of patients were transported by ambulance. There were 64.7% with headache; amnesia of accident 82.4%; vomiting 78.4%; scalp wound 45.1%; ear bleeding 7.8%; nose bleeding 7.8%; raccoon eye 19.6%. It did not exist a difference of ethanol levels in different lesions on head CT scanner. Expired rate of patient at ED was 21.6%. Key words: head injury, traffic accident, ethanol, Glasgow