Traumatic brain injury in Greece: report of a countrywide registry.
BACKGROUND
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence of TBI in Greece and to provide evidence on the epidemiologic characteristics of the disease.


METHODS
This is a prospective observational study initiated by the Hellenic Society of Trauma and Emergency Surgery. Thirty hospitals participated in the registry. All trauma patients requiring admission transfer to a higher level centre and those who arrived dead were included in the study. This report evaluated the epidemiologic characteristics of patients with brain trauma, the cause and the severity of the injury and the final outcome.


RESULTS
Eight thousand eight hundred and sixty-two patients were included in the registry. Of them, 3383 had at least one brain injury. There were 2451 males and 932 females. Traffic accidents were the leading cause of TBI (54.1%), followed by falls (27.7%). The most affected age group was the 15-44 year olds (48.0%), but TBIs were more lethal in the 45-64 age group (17.8%). Interestingly, a 3.4% mortality was recorded if a TBI was present, even if ISS was relatively low (0-9 ISS group).


CONCLUSIONS
TBI is a major element of trauma. Knowledge of the epidemiologic characteristics of the disease is imperative for adequate planning and future quality assessment.
Katsaragakis
Stylianos
S
Surgical Intensive Care Unit, 1st Department of Propeudeutic Surgery, University of Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece.
Drimousis
Panagiotis G
PG
Toutouzas
Konstantinos
K
Stefanatou
Maria
M
Larentzakis
Antreas
A
Theodoraki
Maria E
ME
Stergiopoulos
Spyros
S
Theodorou
Dimitrios
D
D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012042:Registries; D018570:Risk Assessment; D017678:Sex Distribution; D055815:Young Adult