title: A seven-year study on head injuries in infants, Iran---the changing pattern.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Head injury (HI) is the leading cause of mortality and life-long disability in infants. Infants have different anatomical and pathophysiological brain structures from other age groups. The aim of this study was to survey infant HI patients admitted to Shahid Behest Hospital in Kashan, Iran from 2004 to 2010, and to identify the causes of HIs in this age group.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this retrospective study, all HI patients under the age of two who were hospitalized for more than 24 hours between January 2004 and January 2010 were enrolled in the study. Demographic, etiologic, and injury data were collected and a descriptive analysis was performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Infants comprised 20.8% of all children (under 15 years old) with HIs and 65.1% of the injuries occurred in the home. Falls were the most common cause of injury (63.4%). In hospital mortality was 6.6 per 100 000 infants. A decreasing trend was seen in home events, but HIs caused by traffic accidents were increasing during the study period. The amount of HI infants resulting from car accidents has tripled from the years 2004 to 2010.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although home events and falling are the main causes of infant HIs and need attention, our study showed an increase of HIs caused by road traffic accidents, especially by car accidents, thus legislation for the implementation of protective equipment such as child safety seats and programs is urgently needed.
authors.affiliation: Trauma Research Center, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Ghotb-e-Ravandi Blvd, Kashan, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Esmaeil
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fakharian
authors.forename: Mahdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mohammadzadeh
authors.forename: Samin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Behdad
authors.forename: Atoosa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Babamohammadi
authors.forename: Azadeh Sadat
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Mirzadeh
authors.forename: Javad
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mohammadzadeh
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies