Mild head injury in the pediatric emergency department of the San Lorenzo Clinical Hospital: clinical-epidemiological characteristics and frequency

Introduction: Traumatic brain injury occurs commonly in childhood. Most head injuries in children are mild and are not associated with long-term brain injuries or sequelae. However, a small number of children who appear to be at low risk may have a clinically important TBI. Objective: to determine the frequency, clinical and epidemiological characteristics of mild head trauma in the pediatric emergency department of the San Lorenzo Clinical Hospital. Materials and Methods: this was an observational, descriptive, retrospective and cross-sectional study that included patients under 18 years of age with a diagnosis of mild head injury who were admitted to the observation room of the Emergency Department of the Clinical Hospital from November 2017 to November 2019. Results: 55 patients with a diagnosis of mild TB! were admitted, 53% male, 36% were older infants, the majority came from the metropolitan area. Regarding the trauma mechanism, 62% was due to a fall from their own height with an average of 0.9 +/- 0.91 m, 20% presented loss of consciousness. All patients were admitted to the emergency department awake and with a Glasgow 15/15, regarding the radiological findings, a skull fracture was confirmed in 5%. Imaging studies were performed in 55% of the patients, more than 60% of these were normal. Conclusion: in patients with mild head injury, doctors must decide whether the patient will undergo a tomography based on clinical judgment and internationally standardized guidelines for this purpose, since they expose them to ionizing radiation that increases the long-term risks of lethal neoplasms. This allows low to intermediate risk children to not be unnecessarily exposed to radiation.