Thesis & Dissertations

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a serious public health problem with potentially devastating effects and far-reaching consequences. These injuries occur following a blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the normal function of the brain. TBI can cause death or lasting disability that can significantly impact victims, their families, their communities and the country. The aim of the present work was to study the incidence and the pattern of fatal head injuries in victims admitted to different hospitals in Beirut and its suburbs during the period from 1st January 2010 to 31st December 2013. The current study included all victims with fatal head injuries admitted to different hospitals in Beirut and its suburbs during the study period. The results of the study showed that: The total number of the victims was 770. They represented 29.49% of all other injury related deaths admitted during the same period. The highest number of victims in the present study were admitted during the year 2013 (224) while the lowest was during the year 2011 (174). On the other hand, the percentage of those victims in relation to all different traumatic deaths was the highest during the year 2010 (30.30%) and the lowest was during the year 2011(27.70 %). The study showed that males (67.92%) outnumbered females (32.08%) with a sex ratio of 2.11: 1. The age of the victims ranged from 1 month to 76 years with a mean of 27.75 ± 13.54 years. About two third of the victims (63.25%) were in the age group 10- 40 years. The least number (4.93%) were victims below 10 years. The majority of victims with fatal head injuries was injured outdoor (73.89 %). Nearly half of the victims died at hospital (49.74%) while only 7.41 % died during transportation. The rest of them died at the scene of injury. v The majority of the victims were having closed injuries (77.12%). A significant association was detected between the type of injury and the gender of victims. The percentage of females with blunt injuries outnumbered males. On the other hand the percentage of males with penetrating injuries outnumbered females. The association between the type of injury and the place of death was statistically significant. About two third of victims with penetrating injuries died at the hospital (60.44%). The percentage of victims with closed injuries who died during transportation (8.6%) was significantly higher than those with opened injuries (3.4%). The injuries in more than half of the victims (57.01%) were accidental. The least number of the injuries were suicidal or undetermined. Males outnumbered females regarding homicidal and accidental injuries. While in suicidal injuries the numbers of both genders are nearly equal.