[Characteristics of patients with head injury at Salvador City (Bahia--Brazil)].
OBJECTIVE
To describe the characteristics from people with head injury at Salvador city, as well, to point out the most frequent age groups, their disabilities and lethality rates.


METHODS
Assessment and notification of 555 medical files from victims with head injury assisted at the General Hospital of Bahia during 2001.


RESULTS
82.9% from all victims were male and 17.1% female; the most frequent age group was 21 to 30 years; the most relevant cause of head injury was traffic accident (40.7%), followed by physical violence with or without weapons (25.4%) and falls (24%).


CONCLUSIONS
The most evident profile group involved in accidents with head trauma implications was young male that usually had traffic injuries, with expressive rates of disabilities and lethality.
Melo
José Roberto Tude
JR
Hospital Geral do Estado de Bahia, Curso de Pós-Graduação em Medicina e Saúde, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador BA, Brazil. robertotude@hotmail.com
Silva
Ricardo Araújo da
RA
Moreira
Edson Duarte
ED
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality*; D016021:Epidemiologic Studies; D005260:Female; D015600:Glasgow Coma Scale; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017678:Sex Distribution; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices