Socio-demographic corelation of traumatic brain injury patients at a tertiary care centre of northern India

Abstract

India has a limited and evolving health infrastructure. A vast majority of rural and distant population are unable to access good quality treatment due to limited number of tertiary care centres in the country. Information from National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reveals that nearly 500000 deaths occur every year due to injuries and 1/3 of them are due to Road Traffic Injuries (RTI). Trauma in general and traumatic brain injury (TBI) in particular poses a major public health crisis in India and in many developing countries. TBI causes significant number of deaths, disabilities and socio-economic losses. Selected 150 head injury patients admitted under the Department of Neurosurgery, Trauma Centre, Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS), Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi, UP, India. The peak incidence of head injury was observed in the younger population, male deceased outnumbered female, most common cause for TBIs was RTI followed by fall from height, most of the victims had rural background, among victims students were in highest number and most belonged to low to middle income group family.Trauma is not a 100% preventable problem but accidental deaths are preventable and the incidence of RTIs can be minimized by creating due attention in public. Global experience clearly indicates that road traffic injuries are amenable to prevention and require systematic approaches. Burden of disability can also be minimized by increasing rehabilitation services. Government should step in for implementation of traffic safety rules and driving regulations, efficient transport system for accidents victims and instructions for strict governance.