Severe head injury in early infancy: analysis of causes and possible predictive factors for outcome

The aim of this study was to analyse the causes and prognostic factors for outcome in severe traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in early infancy. We present a retrospective study on 16 infants aged less than 12 months observed over the last 20 years in our department for severe brain injury. Infants were evaluated by the Children Coma Scale (CCS). We assessed Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) at discharge and at 12 months after discharge. The main causes of trauma were domestic accidents followed by car accidents. The highest positive correlation was found between the GOS score at 1 year and the presence of hypoxia and hypotension at admission, the presence of hyperglycaemia at 24 h and the occurrence of major clotting disorders. A significant but weaker correlation was found with the CCS at admission, the occurrence of early post-traumatic seizures and the length of stay in the intensive care unit.