A prospective observational cohort study of traumatic brain injury in the northern region of Sweden

Objective Generally, to map epidemiological and demographic features of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in Umea county, Sweden. Specifically, to evaluate the subjects needing a computed tomography (CT) of the head after suffering from TBI and frequencies of 1) intracranial lesions detected with CT, 2) need for neurosurgical intervention and 3) admission to hospital. Methods Patients with a suspected TBI, undergoing CT within 24 hours of arrival to hospital, were included in a database for evaluation. Results Out of 302 patients (63% male), 83% were GCS 13-15, 7% were GCS 9-12 and 10% were GCS <9. The frequency of abnormal CT findings was 23% in GCS 13-15, 67% in GCS 9-12 and 97% in GCS <9. Neurosurgical intervention was needed by 4% of those with GCS 13-15, 52% of those with GCS 9-12 and by 76% of those with GCS Conclusions Subjects with GCS 13-15 had higher frequencies of abnormal CT findings, need for neurosurgical intervention and hospital admission than previously reported. A similar trend was observed for patients with GCS 9-12, which can be of serious nature, with a higher frequency of need for neurosurgical intervention than previously described.