title: Epidemiological features of 1 281 patients with head injuries arising from the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze the epidemiological features of patients with head injuries in the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medical records of patients with head injuries who were admitted to 14 hospitals in Deyang, Mianyang and Chengdu cities after the earthquake were retrospectively analyzed. The patients'age, gender, cause of injury, diagnosis, and outcome were analyzed retrospectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 1 281 patients with 807 males and 474 females were included. According to Glasgow Coma Scale score at admission, 1 029 patients presented with mild injury, 161 moderate injury and 91 severe injury. The major cause of injuries (83%) was bruise by collapsed buildings. Open head injuries accounted for 60.8%. A total of 720 patients underwent surgical treatment. Good recovery was achieved in 1 056 patients, moderate disability in 106, severe disability in 71, coma in 29 and death in 19.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this series, male patients were more than female patients. The main cause of injury was hit by falling objects due to building collapse. Minor and open craniocerebral injuries were most common. The epidemiological features of head injuries in Wenchuan earthquake may be helpful to preparation for future rescue.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.
authors.forename: Chao-Hua
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Zhi-Gang
authors.initials: ZG
authors.lastname: Lan
authors.forename: Jia-Gang
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma; D055866:Earthquakes; D015600:Glasgow Coma Scale; D006801:Humans; D012189:Retrospective Studies