Pattern and Outcomes of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) In Pediatric Patients

Abstract

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of mortality and permanent impairment in children. Objective: To investigate the pattern and outcomes of TBI in pediatric patients. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Holy family Hospital Rawalpindi from June 2021 to February 2022 in the Department of Emergency. We included 141 children with no prior history of neurological deficits, who had a CT scan immediately following their presentation. All children were monitored throughout their hospital stay to determine the in-hospital mortality and any neurological deficits. SPSS Version 24 was used for data analysis. Results: Male patients were 86 (61%). The majority of patients were between the ages of 5 and 10 years. There were 35 male patients and four female patients who were involved in a road traffic accident. Only 20 of the patients who had hypotension on admission showed recovery. The p-value was significant in 46 hypotensive patients out of which 23 died. The hospital had to treat 11 patients who had been hospitalized for more than a month. Only 31 of the 96 patients with depressed mentation had surgery, compared to other patients with no neurological deficit. Conclusions: TBI in pediatric patients was affected by gender, age, time of arrival after injury, and presenting conditions in our study. More needs to be done in the area of public health. The hospital and perhaps the country would benefit from a trauma registry system.