International Surgery Journal | January-March 2016 | Vol 3 | Issue 1 Page 173 International Surgery Journal Vikrant VK et al. Int Surg J. 2016 Feb;3(1):173-176 http://www.ijsurgery.com pISSN 2349-3305 | eISSN 2349-2902 Research Article Factors affecting head trauma in children Vikrant V. K., Gursev Sandlas, Shalika Jayaswal, H. Shah* INTRODUCTION Trauma is the second most common cause of mortality and morbidity in children. 1 The exact incidence of paediatric head trauma in India is not known, though there are certain studies which have reported an incidence as high as 50% of all cases of trauma in children. 1 Review of literature on paediatric head injury reveals that there are very few studies which have studied the epidemiological factors and incidence in India as well as in other developing nations. The aim of this study was to study the epidemiological factors in children with head trauma admitted in a tertiary care centre in western India. METHODS This study was conducted in the Department of Paediatric Surgery, Nair hospital, Mumbai, India. It includes 60 consecutive patients of head trauma admitted over a period of one year from September 2012 to August 2013. The inclusion criteria for the study were as follows: 1. Children below 12 years of age 2. Neonates were also included 3. Head injury requiring admission The exclusion criteria for the study were as follows: 1. Children above 12 years of age 2. Head injury managed on Outpatient basis 3. Head injury associated with polytrauma On admission all the patients were assessed according to Paediatric Glasgow coma scale and were managed according to set protocol. A reference to neurosurgery was sent in all cases and treatment modified accordingly. ABSTRACT Background: To study the epidemiological factors of head trauma in paediatric patients at a tertiary care centre. Methods: 60 consecutive admitted patients of head trauma were studied and analysed as per set proforma. The study included details pertaining to time since injury, average duration of stay, age distribution, sex distribution, GCS at presentation, mode of injury, associated injuries, CT findings, type of management and outcome. The results were tabulated and analysed. Results: The average time of presentation since injury was 3 hours, average duration of stay was 4 days, 1-5 years was the most commonly affected age group. GCS at presentation was 15 in most cases, fall from height was the most common mode of injury, Contused lacerated wounds were the commonest external injuries, parietal bone fracture was the most common CT scan finding, 96% improved with conservative management. Conclusions: Head injury occurs commonly in preschool children due to fall from unprotected roof tops. The prognosis in majority of the cases is excellent. Keywords: Head injury, Children Department Of Paediatric Surgery, T.N.M.C & B.Y.L. Nair Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400008, India Received: 15 October 2015 Revised: 16 October 2015 Accepted: 16 December 2015 *Correspondence: Dr. H. Shah, E-mail: hemanshisshah@gmail.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2349-2902.isj20160221