Demographic Distribution and Contributing Factors of Traumatic Brain Injury: A Tertiary Care Centre Study

Objective To determine the demographic distribution and contributing factors of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Materials and Methods Using total enumeration sampling technique, 61 patients during October-December 2020, were enrolled in the study. Data was collected using a pre-validated questionnaire. Results Mean age of patients was 41.16 ± 15.1 (range 6–70) years. Majority were male (78.7%) and married (73.8%). Most of the patients belonged to Punjab state (47.5%) and rural areas (72.1%). Major cause of TBI was a road-side accident (RSA) in 70.5% patients. One-quarter (24.6%) of the patients had consumed alcohol at the time of injury. One-third (34.4%) of the patients did not suffer immediate loss of consciousness. However, 65.6% patients lost consciousness immediately after injury of which only 55.7% regained it within six hours. Three-quarters (75%) of the patients received help within 30 minutes of TBI. Around 30% of the cases reported poor road infrastructure as contributing factors to RSA. Nearly half (48.8%) of the patients were driving a 2-wheeler while 27.9% were pillion riders. None of the 2-wheeler occupants wore helmets. Around half (46.5%) of the patients had collision/hit as the mechanism of injury while it was a loss of balance and slip/skid in 16.3% and 9.3% patients, respectively. Among 25% of the patients who had fallen, 43.8% had fallen from height followed by fall from stairs in 37.5% patients. The remaining 3% of TBI patients were assaulted as a result of quarrels due to property disputes or alcohol consumption by some blunt physical objects. Conclusion The present study reported RSA as the major cause of TBI contributed by poor road infrastructure and negligence towards road safety rules.