The incidence and severity of injury in children hospitalised for traumatic brain injury in Kashmir

Summary A large number of people experience traumatic brain injury each year, often with severe consequences. This is a public health problem that requires ongoing surveillance to follow trends in the incidence, risk factors, causes, and outcomes of these injuries. In 2003, a prospective study of all children below 15 years admitted to hospitals with a diagnosis of head injury was conducted in the Accident & Emergency Department of Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Srinagar (India) to determine the incidence and severity of accidental head injury among children and the circumstances of injury. The highest incidence of head injury was seen at ages 6–10 years. Head injury rates were higher in males than in females. The leading causes include falls and motor vehicle accidents. More than 50% falls occurred in the age group of 4–6 years. Ninety per cent patients, who recovered, were discharged within 16–24 h after admission. Lack of supervision, non-implementation of safety measures and poor implementation of traffic rules leads to many injuries. The ability of the health care system to deal with increasing trauma in Jammu & Kashmir is limited. Nevertheless, prevention can be low cost strategy to overcome this problem. The results of epidemiological studies are affected by factors like demography, geographic region and socioeconomic status. This study emphasizes the need for intensified effort for prevention, minimising risk factors, strict legislative measures, observing traffic rules, implementation of safety measures, establishing appropriate trauma care at district level, adult supervision, and creating awareness.