An Epidemiologic Study of Traumatic Brain Injuries in Emergency Depart-ment
Journal Title: Archives of Academic Emergency Medicine - Year 2015, Vol 3, Issue 4
Abstract
Introduction: Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are one of the most important causes of death in patients under the age of 25 years and is responsible for one third of total deaths caused by trauma. Therefore, knowing its epidemiologic pattern in different populations seems vital. Therefore, this study aims to examine the epidemiologic pattern of TBI in emergency department. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the profiles of 1000 patients affected by TBI were selected using simple random sampling. The examined variables in this study included demographic, season, mechanism of injury, accompanying injuries, level of consciousness, hospitalization duration, computed tomography (CT) scan results, needing surgery, admission to intensive care unit, and outcome of the patient. In the end, independent risk factors for the death of patients were determined. Results: 1000 patients suffering from were studied (81.8% male; mean age 38.5±21.7 years). The frequency of their referral to hospital in spring (31.4%) was more (p<0.01). 45.9% of the patients had a level of consciousness less than 9 based on the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). Subdural (45.9%) and epidural bleeding (23.7%) were the most common findings in CT scans in this study (p<0.001). Finally, 233 (23.3%) of the patients were dead. Over 60 years of age, falling and motorcycle accidents, intracranial hemorrhage accompanied by brain contusion, subdural bleeding, a GCS of less than 9, and the need to be admitted to intensive care unit were independent risk factors of death in TBI. Conclusion: Age Over 60 years, falling and motorcycle accidents, intracranial hemorrhage accompanied by brain contusion, subdural bleeding, a GCS of less than 9, and need to be admitted to intensive care unit were independent risk factors for the death in TBI patients.
Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia and Its Responsible Germs; an Epidemiological Study
Introduction: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is one of the most common hospital infections and a side effect of lengthy stay in intensive care unit (ICU). Considering the ever-changing pattern of common pathogens...
Management of Deep Vein Thrombosis in Emergency Departments; Time to Change the Viewpoint
Clot formation within a deep vein is called deep vein thrombosis (DVT). It occurs in about 100 persons per 100,000 population each year in the United States and leads to about 600,000 pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) case...
Emergency Medicine Resident versus Radiologist in Detecting the Ultrasonographic Signs of Acute Cholecystitis; a Diagnostic Accuracy Study
Introduction: Dependence of ultrasonography on the operator’s skill plays a major role in the differences between various studies in reporting its diagnostic accuracy. Therefore, the present study was done with the aim o...
Intravenous Lidocaine Compared to Fentanyl in Renal Colic Pain Management; a Randomized Clinical Trial
Introduction: Using alpha blockers such as intravenous (IV) lidocaine has been deemed effective in controlling acute pain. Therefore, the current study was designed with the aim of evaluating the efficiency of IV lidocai...
Predictive Factors of Suicide Attempt and Non-Suicidal Self-Harm in Emergency Department
Introduction: Suicide is the third cause of mortality in America, second leading cause of death in developed countries, and one of the major health problems. Self-harm is self-inflicted damage to one’s self with or witho...