Analysis of death causes in 44 patients diagnosed initially as mild to moderate craniocerebral trauma

Objective To discuss the death causes in patients diagnosed initially as mild to moderate craniocerebral trauma. Methods A retrospective study was done on 44 deaths, who arrived at the emergency department with a mild or moderate craniocerebral trauma from 2004 to 2008. There were 35males and nine females at age range of 19-85 years (average 53 years). There were 17 patients with Glasgow coma score (GCS) 13-15 points and 27 with GCS 9-12 points. The causes of injury included road traffic accidents in 18 patients, tumbling in 18, falling from height in six and unknown factors in two respectively. Of all, 18 patients underwent surgical intervention and 26 received conservative therapy.Results The causes of death were cerebral hernia in 25 patients (57%), various complications in 15(34%), multiple trauma in two (5%) and sudden death in two (5%) respectively. Conclusions The primary death cause is cerebral hernia in the patients with mild to moderate craniocerebral trauma.Attention should be paid to prevention and control of complications and multiple trauma during treatment of primary head injury. The prognosis may be badly affected by human factors. Key words: Craniocerebral trauma; Cause of death; Glasgow coma scale; Neurosurgical procedures