Cranial computed tomography utilization in head trauma in a Southern Nigerian tertiary hospital

Abstract

Background: Computed tomography (CT) is the imaging modality of choice in evaluating patients with acute head trauma. Objective: The objective of this study is to assess CT utilization in head trauma in University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) with reference to sociodemographic characteristics and cause of injury. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study of patients who had CT scanning done for head trauma in the UBTH, from 2011 to 2013 was undertaken. Medical Records of patients with special emphasis on the patient′s demographic characteristics and detailed information about the cause of injury of the patients were obtained from the accident and emergency department of the hospital. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 17. Results: A total of 1387 patients with male: female ratio of 3.7:1 were studied. The mean age of the patients was 33.2 ± 18.8 years. Road traffic accidents (RTA) were the predominant cause of injury among the patients accounting for 62.6% of the cases. Gunshot injury (GSI) and patients struck by objects accounted for only 2.7% and 1.3% of the cases, respectively. The Glasgow coma score (GCS) of the patients revealed that 42.0%, 26.1%, and 31.9% of patients had severe head injury, moderate injury, and mild injury, respectively. Conclusion: Road traffic accidents involving young adult males constituted the predominant cause of injury in patients that had brain CT in UBTH. There is an urgent need for improvement in the condition of roads and enforcement of the use of protective devices by road users to curb the epidemic of head injury resulting from RTAs.

Keywords

• Computed tomography
• Southern Nigeria
• traumatic brain injury