Profil épidémiologique des traumatismes crâniens chez l'enfant, ayant entrainé une hospitalisation [ Epidemiological profile of head trauma in children resulted in hospitalization ]

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the epidemiological profile of patients with head trauma (HT) resulted in hospitalization in the pediatric surgical emergencies department of Children's hospital, Rabat. Material and methods: a retrospective study was conducted between January 1st and December 31st 2014. Variables included were age, gender, causes, date of accident, associated lesions, CT results and evolution. Results: There were 68% boys of 683 patients with the median age of 5 years [1,5-9]. There was a higt frequency of head injuries during weekends and summers. Falls, especially from variable height were the main mechanism of head injury in 53.6% of cases, followed by traffic crush (40.6%). The HT were isolated in 67% of cases. All patients underwent a CT scan that was normal in 61% of cases, and highlighted the predominance of skull fractures (17.9%), followed by extradural haematoma (16.4%). The evolution was favorable in 64.7% of cases. Conclusion: head trauma is very frequent in our daily practice and can cause death or dishability. It is most often due to falls and justifies CT to detect intracerebtral lesions. Improved pre-hospital and hospital care, and eventualy a prospective studies on brain injury management in children are needed to develop treatment strategies that optimize outcomes.