Head injuries at a Provincial General Hospital in Kenya.
OBJECTIVE
To review the pattern of head injuries, their management and the outcome.


METHODS
A retrospective and prospective descriptive study.


METHODS
The Surgical Department, the Intensive Care Unit and the Mortuary at the Provincial General Hospital, Nyeri, Kenya.


METHODS
Three hundred and sixty one patients who were seen in the above units with any element of head injury from January 1995 to June 1996.


RESULTS
Two hundred and fifty (69.3%) patients were admitted, treated and discharged. Eleven (3.0%) patients died in hospital while 100 (27.7%) were brought in dead. Head injuries accounted for 8.3% of the total admissions to the surgical wards. Road traffic accidents and assault were responsible for over 70% of the head injuries seen. Scalp wounds (52.6%) and fracture of the skull (47.9%) formed the commonest components of head injury. Skull X-rays films were the leading investigation done for head injury. A low Glascow coma scale was associated with a poor outcome.


CONCLUSIONS
Head injuries are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in our set-up, especially in the young.
Muyembe
V M
VM
Provincial General Hospital, Nyeri, Kenya.
Suleman
N
N
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006769:Hospitals, General / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007630:Kenya / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution