Profile of pediatric traumatic brain injury at the Dr. Soetomo General Hospital, Surabaya, Indonesia

Abstract

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an emergency condition for children. TBI affects more than three million children worldwide each year. It is a common cause of death and disability in children. Knowing the profile of pediatric TBI is important because it can help provide more effective treatment management and increase public awareness of child safety. However, pediatric TBI has not been widely studied in Indonesia. This study aimed to ascertain the profile of pediatric TBI at Dr. Soetomo General Hospital.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted using medical records of pediatric TBI patients aged < 18 years old who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria at Dr. Soetomo General Hospital from January 2016 to December 2020. Data were processed in the form of descriptive analysis and distributed into frequency tables.

Results: This study included 124 patients. The highest incidence occurred in the age range of 12 – 18 years old (33.87%). Males suffered from TBI more commonly (74.19%) than females with a ratio of 3:1. Accidents were the most common cause of pediatric TBI (66.94%). Most patients came with decreased consciousness (40.55%) and were diagnosed with intracranial injury (52.22%) with epidural hematoma (21.28%) as the most common type. The majority of patients were moderate TBI (41.93%) and received operative management (66.94%) with a percentage of 95.16% of cases being discharged after their condition improved.

Conclusion: Pediatric TBI predominantly occurred in males with an age range of 12 – 18 years old. Traffic accidents were the main cause of pediatric TBI, so it is important to pay attention to child safety, especially when driving.