Paediatric traumatic brain injury: Presentation, prognostic indicators and Outcome analysis from a tertiary care center in a developing country

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children worldwide. This study was conducted to report the presentation, management, outcomes and prognostic indicators in a large series of patients from a tertiary care centre in a developing country. It is a review of prospectively collected data of paediatric patients with TBI admitted at our centre between July 2010 and December 2013. A total of 291 patients with a mean age of 7.2±5.0 years were dichotomised into survivors and non-survivors, and variables were compared between the two groups. The mean post-resuscitation Glasgow coma scale (GCS) score was 11.6±3.9, mean Marshall Score was 2.26±0.95 and the mean revised trauma score at presentation was 10.58±1.7. Younger age, lower GCS score after resuscitation, lower revised trauma score, absent cisterns on imaging, associated subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) and intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH) and a lower Marshall score were associated with higher mortality.