Epidemiological attributes of patients with head trauma treated in the neurosurgical clinic of Afyon Kocatepe University Faculty of Medicine.

Abstract

In order to retrospectively evaluate the records of patients who were treated in the Neurosurgical Clinic. Records of 195 patients treated from 2009 to 2013 in the Neurosurgery Clinic of Afyon Kocatepe University Faculty of Medicine, were restrospectively reviewed. Cases were evaluated in terms of several parameters such as : age, sex, cause of trauma, Glasgow Coma Scale(GKS), radiological findings, operation status. 30.25% of the patients (n=59) were female, 69.75% (n=136) were male and their average age was 11, 50. Reasons for the head traumas were traffic accident inside vehicle 20% (n=39), traffic accident outside vehicle 17.99% (n=35), falling from high 48.20% (n=94), physical assault 2.56% (n=5), firearm wound 0,51% (n=1), industrial accident 1.53% (n=3), hard object hits 7.69% (n=15), other 3.07% (n=6). Degree of trauma were evlauted as : mild for 81.02% (n=158), moderate for 7.69% (n=15) and severe for 11.28% (n=22). Average GKS was 12,36 +/- 1,61. When the patients were classified according to their cranial pathologies; linear fracture 21.02% (n=41), brain oedema 2.56% (n=5), cerebral contusion 3.07% (n=6), collapse fracture 14.35% (n=28), traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage 5.12% (n=10), subdural hematoma 4.61% (n=9), epidural hematoma 7.70% (n=15), other (radiologically normal) 41.53% (n=81). 13.84% of the patients (n=27) were operated. Epidemiological findings are important for planning preventive medicine studies. Reducing the falling from height and traffic accidents will significantly reduce the number of head traumas.