Shahid Iqbal, Lubna Ijaz, Laeeq-ur Rehman, Farrukh Mehmood Sattar, Muhammad Waqas-ur Rehman, Malik Muhammad Nadeem.
Patterns of head injuries in pediatric patients treated in emergency department of children hospital and institute of child health lahore.
Pak J Neuro Surg Jan ;26(1):16-22.

Objective:  To analyze the pattern of head injuries along with characteristics and outcomes among pediatric age group presenting in The Children hospital Lahore, Pakistan. Material and Methods:  A cross-sectional study was conducted and a total of 384 children of both genders aged up to 12 years presenting with head injuries were included. After initial review and resuscitation by the trauma unit or neurosurgery unit, children were evaluated clinically and radiologically and the plan was decided for further treatment. Gender, age, place of injury occurrence, etiology of injury, Glasgow coma score (GCS) at the time of enrollment, the interval between injury and admission, management, outcome, and total duration of hospital stay were recorded on a predesigned proforma. Results:  In a total of 384 children, 249 (64.8%) were boys. Overall, the mean age was 5.8 ± 3.3 years. Falls were the commonest etiology in 210 (54.7%) children while motor vehicle accidents were the cause of head trauma among 78 (20.3%) children. The mean interval between injury and presentation was noted to be 3.2 ± 2.1 hours. Mortality was reported in 56 (14.6%) children and it was observed that a significant association was noted between outcome and GCS at the time of presentation (p < 0.0001). Conclusion:  The majority of the pediatric head injury cases were male and aged above 5 years. The most common etiology of head injuries was falls followed by motor vehicle accidents. GCS ? 8 at the time of presentation was significantly linked with poor outcomes.

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