TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY: AN IMPORTANT CAUSE OF MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY IN BRAZIL

Resumo

Introduction: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be understood as any assault of traumatic order that results in anatomical injury or functional impairment of the scalp, skull, meninges, brain or its vessels. The TBI accounts for 75% to 97% of trauma deaths in children. Objectives: To compare the epidemiology of severe TBI in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (ICU-PED) of a University Hospital in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul in the range of 1 year with other published studies. Material and methods: We compared the population of patients admitted in the sector in the period from May 2013 to May 2014 duly registered in the admission book with data obtained from systematic review of electronic research of databases PubMed and Health Virtual Library. Results and discussion: In our service, in the analyzed period, 341 admissions were recorded, of which 17 were due to TBI, which represented 5% of total admissions. There was no statistical difference between the sexes and pre-school age group was predominant, being the minimum age 5 months and the maximum 12 years. Among the patients of indigenous race, who represents about 50% of the population served, 3 cases of TBI were registered. In the analyzed period were recorded two deaths in our service, which represents 11% of patients with TBI. International statistics show that more than 500,000 emergency room visits are conducted annually due to TBI in the pediatric age group. Data available in the literature show that there is a predominance of male victims because of their predisposition to adventures and games outside the home environment. Conclusions: Trauma is the leading cause of death in the first four decades of life and it represents huge and growing challenge for the country both in social and economic terms.