Mortality in missile wounds of the head

Abstract

Abstract In a series of 250 patients with missile wounds of the head treated at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria, 35 died after admission, a mortality of 14 per cent. Forty-three per cent of the deaths occurred within a week of wounding and were predominantly due to severe anatomical damage; among the 34 per cent who died at least 4 weeks after wounding there was evidence of intracranial infection. Surgical operation did not improve the outcome in the group with severe anatomical damage. A serious disturbance of the level of consciousness on admission, namely coma, was a bad prognostic sign.