Outcomes of Traumatic Brain Injury in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Bangladesh

Abstract

Background: Head injuries remain a significant cause of mortality and functional impairment, particularly among young adults. Presently, head injuries pose a considerable challenge at the community level, emerging as a major concern. The economic repercussions of head injuries are particularly severe in developing nations such as Bangladesh. Objective: To evaluate the outcomes of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in a tertiary care hospital in Bangladesh. Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study was conducted in the Combined Military Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh from May 2022 to July 2023. The study enrolled 117 patients with head injury using purposive sampling. Data were composed through a semi-structured, pre-designed inquiry form and analyzed using MS Office tools. Results: In this study, 28% of the patients were treated conservatively, while the remaining 72% underwent surgical intervention. After treatment, 69.2% of patients were discharged successfully, 27.4% were referred to rehabilitation programs, and 3.4% were referred for further treatment. The study reported a mortality rate of 11.1%. Neurological complications were observed in 20.5% of cases, with early post-traumatic stress (PTS) noted in 16.2% of cases. Non-neurological complications and aspiration pneumonia were observed in 11.1% and 8.5% of cases, respectively. Conclusion: Surgical intervention is common in managing traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients, although mortality rates remain a challenge. Neurological complications are frequent, posing challenges in both conservative and surgical management approaches.