%0 Journal Article
%T A Profile of Traumatic Brain Injury within Hospital Emergency Departments¡ªA Retrospective Study in the Republic of Moldova
%A Svetlana Cociu
%A Angela Cazacu-Stratu
%A Lilia Chiosea
%A Gheorghe Rojnoveanu
%A Serghei Cebanu
%A Corinne Peek-Asa
%J Open Journal of Preventive Medicine
%P 175-189
%@ 2162-2485
%D 2022
%I Scientific Research Publishing
%R 10.4236/ojpm.2022.129013
%X <strong>Background:</strong> Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a critical public health and socio-economic problem throughout the world, making epidemiological monitoring of incidence, prevalence, and outcome of TBI necessary. TBI is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in adolescents, young adults, and the elderly, one of the leading causes being road traffic accidents. <strong>Methods:</strong> A retrospective study was conducted among patients with TBI within 2 medical institutions in Chisinau municipality: Emergency Medicine Institute (EMI) and <i>Valentin Ignatenco</i> Municipal Children¡¯s Hospital (MCH). A questionnaire was applied, completed on the basis of medical records according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 10 codes. The collection period was August 1-October 31, 2018. Data were uploaded using the existing electronic data collection tool¡ªRed Cap and analyzed through Microsoft Excel. Data collection was performed by a resident neurosurgery and a scientific researcher. The ethics committee¡¯s approval has been obtained. <strong>Results:</strong> There have been identified 150 patients: 57 cases (38.5%) of TBI among children and 93 cases (61.5%) among adults aged between 18 - 73 years old. A large majority (62%) of head injuries were among patients from the urban area (most in adults¡ª60% and males¡ª74%). The most common mechanisms of head injury were falls (53.3%) and road traffic injuries (24%), followed by assault (14.7%) and struck by/or against (8%). The distributions by place of occurrence highlighted that most injuries occurred at home (33.4%) and in transport area (25.3%). Most head injuries were registered among men 121 (81.2%) with a predominance of minor Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) (65.1%), followed by moderate GCS (9.4%), while in women all cases with GCS minor (18.8%). <strong>Conclusion:</strong> The data obtained could be useful for the hospital administration in managing the necessary resources and for conducting information campaigns among the high-risk groups.
%K Traumatic Brain Injury
%K Emergency Departments
%K TBI Registry
%K Prevention
%U http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=119825