The Prevalence of Traumatic Head Injury Seen in a Tertiary Health Facility in North-Central Nigeria

Abstract

Knowledge about the prevalence of head injury over a time frame could be helpful in understanding the epidemiology of the disease and planning towards managing and preventing further occurrence. This study was aimed at identifying the prevalence of head injury in a tertiary health institution between 2010 and 2013. Findings revealed that 786 cases of head injury were seen between 2010 and 2013 translating into an average of 197 cases per year. Furthermore it was also found that, 83% of the reported cases involved males. Findings also revealed that one out of every five reported cases resulted in death. Road traffic accident accounted for more than three quarters of all cases seen. We concluded that the prevalence of head injury was reasonable and more resources should be budgeted towards the management of head injury to reduce the mortality rate. We recommended that further study should be conducted to assess the quality of Medical and Nursing care provided to these patients.