Actual data on epidemiological evolution and prevention endeavours regarding traumatic brain injury

BACKGROUND Knowledge of the epidemiology of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is required both to prevent this disorder and to develop effective care and rehabilitation approaches for patients. OBJECTIVE The aim of this article is to find solutions to decrease the incidence of TBI and offer recommendations for their prevention. MATERIAL AND METHODS We analyzed epidemiological studies on TBI by performing a systematic review of literature, using information reported by different centers, collecting data on demographics, showing characteristics of TBI including incidence, identification of risk groups on differences in age, gender, geographical variation, severity and mortality. RESULTS Studies suggest that the incidence of TBI is between 18 and 250 per 100,000 persons per year. Men and people living in social and economical deprived areas, usually young adults and the elderly are high-risk groups for TBI. DISCUSSION Prevention remains the "key point" in medicine and especially for TBI, saving the patient from unnecessary often-harsh sufferance. CONCLUSIONS Most public epidemiological data showed that TBI is a major cause of mortality and disability. The effort to understand TBI and the available strategies to treat this lesion, in order to improve clinical outcomes after TBI, may be based on an increase in research on the epidemiology of TBI. A coordinated strategy to evaluate this public health problem in Romania would first of all rely on a related advanced monitoring system, to provide precise information about the epidemiology, clinical and paraclinical data, but concerning the social and economic connected consequences, too. ABBREVIATIONS CNS = central nervous system, ED = emergency department, EU = European Union, FTE = Full Time Employees, GCS = Glasgow Coma Scale, TBI = traumatic brain injury, US = United States, WHO = World Health Organization.