Repetitive Traumatic Brain Injury in Patients From Kashan, Iran

BACKGROUND: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a worldwide problem, especially in countries with high incidence of road traffic accidents such as Iran. Patients with a single occurrence of TBI have been shown to be at increased risk to sustain future TBI. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to present the incidence and characteristics of repeated TBI (RTBI) in Iranian patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: During one year, all admitted TBI patients with prior TBI history were enrolled into the study. In each patient, data such as age, gender, past medical history, injury cause, anatomic site of injury, TBI severity, clinical findings and CT scan findings were collected. RESULTS: RTBI comprised 2.5% of TBI cases (41 of 1629). The incidence of RTBI per 100,000 individuals per years was 9.7. The main cause of RTBI was road traffic accident (68.3%); 9.7 % of cases had preexisting seizure/epilepsy disorder; 36.6% of patients with RTBI had pervious ICU admission due to severe TBI. Ten patients had Glasgow coma scale (GCS) ≤ 13 (24.4%). Seizure was seen in seven patients (17.1%). Thirty-nine percent of patients with RTBI had associated injuries. Eleven patients had abnormal CT scan findings (26.9%). CONCLUSIONS: Considering the high incidence of trauma in developing countries, RTBI may also be more common compared with that of developed countries. This mandates a newer approach to preventive strategies, particularly in those with a previous experience of head injury.