RESUMO
This article aims to provide an overview of the epidemiology, medical and rehabilitation issues and recent advances and emerging practices. We also intended to assess the validity of trials in head injury and find the generalized concepts according to their results. All randomized controlled trials on the treatment and rehabilitation of patients with head injury published before November 2010 was surveyed. Data was extracted on the number of participants, use of blinding, loss to follow up, and types of participants, interventions, and outcome measures. Until November 2010, using several search engines, 479 reports were identified. The average number of participants per trial was 92. No trials were large enough to detect reliably a 5% absolute reduction in the risk of death or disability. Of 226 trials assessing disability, 211 reported the number of patients followed up, and average loss to follow up was 19%. Of trials measuring disability, 26% reported that outcome assessors were blinded. Randomized trials in head injury are too small and poorly designed to detect or refute reliably moderate but clinically important benefits or hazards of treatment. Limited funding for injury research and unfamiliarity with issues of consent may have been important obstacles