Computed tomographic findings in pedestrians with head trauma in a Nigerian teaching hospital

Abstract

Background: To describe the computed tomographic findings in pedestrians, who presented with head trauma at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH). Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive, retrospective study conducted at the UBTH from January 2011 to January 2014 involving 103 pedestrians with suspected intracranial injury following head trauma, who presented for computed tomography (CT). The CT findings, Glasgow coma scale (GCS) score as well as the demographic details of the patients were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 16 software. Results: A total of 103 patients were reviewed, which comprised 69 males (67.0%) and 34 females (33.0%) with a male-to-female ratio of 2:1. Patients 10 years and below had the highest incidence, whereas the least incidence was recorded in those above 80 years. The mean age was 30.59 ± 2.07 years and 38.55 ± 2.93 years for males and females, respectively. Motor car collision (60.2%) was the most common mode of injury. The findings on computed tomographic scan were intracerebral haemorrhage 23.8%, cerebral contusion 18.0%, subdural haematoma 10.5%, subarachnoid haematoma 7.6% and extradural haematoma 2.9%. Others were calvarial fracture 15.1%, facial fractures 6.4% and base of skull fracture 4.7%. Only one case of diffuse axonal injury was reported. On the basis of the admission GCS, 33 patients had severe head injury, 30 patients had moderate head injury while mild head injury was observed in 15 patients. Normal GCS was observed in 25 patients. Conclusion: CT is a useful tool in the management of pedestrians with head trauma in the acute setting.