Author(s)

Svetlana Cociu¹, Angela Cazacu-Stratu¹, Lilia Chiosea², Gheorghe Rojnoveanu^3,4, Serghei Cebanu¹, Corinne Peek-Asa⁵

¹Department of Preventive Medicine, Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova.
²Valentin Ignatenco Municipal Children Hospital, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova.
³Nicolae Anestiadi Department of Surgery No.1, Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova.
⁴Emergency Medicine Institute, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova.
⁵Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of California, San Diego, USA.

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a critical public health and socio-economic problem throughout the world, making epidemiological monitoring of incidence, prevalence, and outcome of TBI necessary. TBI is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in adolescents, young adults, and the elderly, one of the leading causes being road traffic accidents. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted among patients with TBI within 2 medical institutions in Chisinau municipality: Emergency Medicine Institute (EMI) and Valentin Ignatenco Municipal Children’s Hospital (MCH). A questionnaire was applied, completed on the basis of medical records according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 10 codes. The collection period was August 1-October 31, 2018. Data were uploaded using the existing electronic data collection tool—Red Cap and analyzed through Microsoft Excel. Data collection was performed by a resident neurosurgery and a scientific researcher. The ethics committee’s approval has been obtained. Results: There have been identified 150 patients: 57 cases (38.5%) of TBI among children and 93 cases (61.5%) among adults aged between 18 - 73 years old. A large majority (62%) of head injuries were among patients from the urban area (most in adults—60% and males—74%). The most common mechanisms of head injury were falls (53.3%) and road traffic injuries (24%), followed by assault (14.7%) and struck by/or against (8%). The distributions by place of occurrence highlighted that most injuries occurred at home (33.4%) and in transport area (25.3%). Most head injuries were registered among men 121 (81.2%) with a predominance of minor Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) (65.1%), followed by moderate GCS (9.4%), while in women all cases with GCS minor (18.8%). Conclusion: The data obtained could be useful for the hospital administration in managing the necessary resources and for conducting information campaigns among the high-risk groups.

Traumatic Brain Injury, Emergency Departments, TBI Registry, Prevention

Cociu, S. , Cazacu-Stratu, A. , Chiosea, L. , Rojnoveanu, G. , Cebanu, S. and Peek-Asa, C. (2022) A Profile of Traumatic Brain Injury within Hospital Emergency Departments—A Retrospective Study in the Republic of Moldova. Open Journal of Preventive Medicine, 12, 175-189. doi: 10.4236/ojpm.2022.129013.