Epidemiology of neurotrauma in Ife-Ijesha zone of Nigeria.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Trauma remains one of the important causes of severe disability and high mortality. In this study, we looked at the epidemiology of neurotrauma in our region so as to highlight essential factors for trauma prevention program.

METHODOLOGY

This is a cross-sectional study of all neurotrauma cases admitted to the neurosurgery service of our hospital over an 18-month period. Information was obtained on patients' demographic data, etiology of injury, duration of injury, site, and cause of accident among others.

RESULTS

One hundred forty-three patients were included in the study. The injuries occurred mostly in males and in the third decade. Most of the patients were students and traders. Eighty-one percent of the accidents were due to road traffic crash (RTC), and the most common contributory factors were head-on collision (46.2%) and overtaking (28.6%). Five of six patients who had RTC in the first decade of life were pedestrians. There were more crashes within the cities. None of the patients who had motorcycle accidents used helmet and only four patients used seatbelts at the time of the accident. Transfer to hospital was mostly in vehicles other than ambulance.

CONCLUSION

Neurotrauma in our study was mostly due to RTC and it is most common in young male students. Contributory factors were head on collision and overtaking.