Causes and clinical features of children with traumatic brain injury: a retrospective analysis of 126 cases / 中国当代儿科杂志

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the causes and clinical features of children with traumatic brain injury (TBI) who need hospitalization or emergency observation.@*METHODS@#A retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 126 children with TBI who were admitted to the emergency department from January 1, 2014 to August 31, 2016, including causes of injury and clinical features.@*RESULTS@#Of the 126 children, there were 95 boys and 31 girls, with a mean age of 2.8 years (range 0.8-5.5 years). The children aged <1 year accounted for 38.1% (48/126), and 26 children died. The two most common types of TBI were epidural hematoma (54.0%) and subarachnoid hemorrhage (50.8%). Of the 126 children, 83 (65.9%) had a Glasgow Coma Scale score of ≤8 within 24 hours after admission. There were different causes of TBI and places where TBI occurred in different age groups. The two leading causes of TBI were falls (51.6%) and road traffic injuries (42.9%). Compared with those in the other age groups, the children in the age <1 year group were most likely to experience injury due to falls (46%; P=0.023). Thirty-five percent of all TBI due to road traffic injuries occurred in the children aged 3-6 years (P<0.001). Most TBI cases occurred at home (47.6%) or on roads/streets (45.2%). Among those who experienced TBI at home, the children aged <1 year accounted for the highest proportion of 48% (P=0.002), and 53% of the patients aged 3-6 years experienced TBI on roads/streets. The most common cause of death in children with TBI was road traffic injury, which accounted for 69%. Among those who died, the children aged <1 year accounted for the highest proportion (62%).@*CONCLUSIONS@#There are different causes of TBI and places where TBI occurs in different age groups. Among children with TBI, the children aged <1 year account for the highest proportion and have the highest number of deaths, with falls at home as the most common cause of TBI. Children aged 3-6 years tend to suffer TBI due to road traffic injury. Road traffic injury is the leading cause of death.