Abstract

ARANGO SOTO, Daniel; QUEVEDO VELEZ, Augusto; MONTES GALLO, Ana  and  CORNEJO OCHOA, William. Epidemiology of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in children aged 1 to 5 years in a tertiary pediatric emergency center. Iatreia [online]. 2008, vol.21, n.3, pp.271-279. ISSN 0121-0793.

Objective: To describe some sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of children aged 1 to 5 years, suffering from TBI. Design: Prospective series of cases at San Vicente de Paul University Hospital, in Medellín, Colombia. Participants: 90 children aged between 1 and 5 years, treated for TBI between June, 2003 and November, 2004, who were residents of the Aburra valley in northwestern Colombia, and did not suffer from other neurological problems. Results: Patients were predominantly males (64.4%). Most cases came from the eastern suburbs of Medellín and were of low socioeconomic level. 82.2% of the cases were due to falls, most of them from top floors, balconies or stairs. In 82% of the cases the places from where children fell did not have any adequate protective barrier. Thirty seven patients (41.1%) suffered from moderate to severe TBI, and 3 of them died (3.3%). Often (58.9%) patients had been with their mothers at the moment of the lesion. For the most part, people in charge of these children were adults, with more than 5 years of schooling. Conclusion: In order to prevent these injuries, an epidemiological surveillance system of TBI, and the installation of adequate protective barriers at homes are clear priorities.

Keywords : Traumatic brain injury in children.

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