Incidence of Traumatic Brain Injury in a Ghanaian Tertiary Hospital

Abstract

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is considered as one of the most silent epidemics and its incidence is rising worldwide due to injuries associated with the increased use of motor vehicles and bad roadnetwork, particularly in middle-income and low-income countries including Ghana. The aim ofthis study was to assess the incidence of TBI, cause of injury as well as outcomes of patients carein the Tamale Teaching Hospital in Ghana. This retrospective study was carried out at the TamaleTeaching Hospital, the only Tertiary referral hospital in the whole of the savanna ecological zoneof Ghana over 43 months from January 2009 to July 2012. All patients admitted into the hospital anddiagnosed as having TBI were included in the study. The medical records of a total of 671 patientswho were diagnosed with TBI were reviewed. Information regarding the age, sex, occupation and initial external cause of injury was retrieved. Data regarding length of hospital stay and treatmentoutcome were also retrieved. External cause of injury was classified according to InternationalClassification of Diseases (ICD) guidelines as Road Traffic Accidents (RTA) (irrespective of type),fall from height, assault, gunshot, game or sport related accident and other causes. Road trafficaccident accounts for relatively high incidence of hospitalized TBI. Majority of the patients weremale within the 21-30 year age group. The high number of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) fatalities mayindicate that more resources and facilities (intensive care nurses and equipment to monitor intracranial pressure) are needed to help in the management of cases particularly head injuries. Journal of Medical and Biomedical Sciences (2016) 5(2), 5-12