Citation

de Almeida CE, de Sousa Filho JL, Dourado JC, Magalhães Gontijo PA, Dellaretti MA, Costa BS. World Neurosurg. 2015; 87: 540-547.

Affiliation

Department of Neurosurgery, Santa Casa de Belo Horizonte, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.wneu.2015.10.020

PMID

26485419

Abstract

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) stands out as a grave social and economic problem. Emerging countries possess few epidemiological studies on the range and impact of TBI. Our study aimed to characterize the demographic, social and economic profile of people suffering from TBI in Brazil. Data on TBI cases in Brazil between 2008 and 2012 were collected through the website of the Information Technology Department of the Unified Health System (DATASUS) maintained by the Brazilian Ministry of Health. This database is fed by public hospital admission authorization forms provided nationwide. There were around 125,000 hospital admissions due to TBI a year, an incidence of 65.7 admissions per 100,000 inhabitants per year. Hospital mortality was 5.1/100,000/year, and the case-fatality rate was 7.7%. The average annual cost of hospital expenses was US$ 70,960,000, with an average cost per admission of US$568. The age group 20-29 was the most frequently admitted to hospital due to TBI and presented the largest number of hospital deaths; however, the population over 80 showed the highest admission rate, around 138/100,000/year, followed by the age group 70-79. TBI should be recognized as an important public health problem in Brazil, since it is responsible for considerable social and economic costs. Besides the young adult age group (20-29 years old), the geriatric age group is especially vulnerable to the frequent and devastating consequences of TBI. The implementation of a system of effective epidemiological vigilance for neurotrauma is urgent in Brazil and other countries worldwide.

Language: en