Evaluation of head injury severity reported by physiologic and anatomic indexes

Abstract

The purpose of this study was the analysis of head injury severity based on physiologic and anatomic indexes, shown by hospitalized patients from the Intensive Care Unit. The study was characterized according to patients' age, gender, external cause and remaining time at the Intensive Care Unit, and it was verified that from the total of admitted patients the most of them were young adult males with a remaining time percentage of 6,28 days. Most frequent external cause was traffic motor vehicle accidents (65, 72%). The study also considers the lesions and trauma severity according to the Abbreviated Injury Scale/Injury Severity Score (AIS/ISS), reporting that the lesions were classified as severe lesions non-life threatening (AIS-3) and severe lesions life threatening (AIS-4). It was verified that the body region most affected was head and neck (57,65%). In relation to the trauma severity (ISS), most of the patients reached ISS 16. The study also presents the head injury severity by determining the consciousness level using the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS); most of the patients showed severe head injury or GCS from 3 to 8. Analysis regarding a possible relation between the GCS and the AIS/ISS was performed to evaluate the head injury severity, considering the fact that the patient was victim of head injury or head injury and other body lesions. No meaning statistical element was observed regarding the relation, between the GCS-1 and the AIS from the head region, except when analised by groups of severity, or GCS-1 3 to 8 and AIS-head 4 to 5; GCS-1 9 to 12 and AIS-head 2 to 3. Similarly, no meaning statistical relation between the GCS-1 and the ISS, isolated head injury or head injury and other body lesions and the ISS or the GCS. It is expected that this study may contribute with new data for the continuous assistance improvement of patients, with head injury severity either related to other lesions or not, offered both by the Nursing and Health teams.