[Head injury at Reykjavík Hospital, intensive care unit, 1994-1998.]

Reykjavík Hospital is the main trauma hospital in Iceland, receiving all severe head injuries in the country. Incidence of head injury and mortality has been decreasing in the last decades. The aim of this study was to analyse data on admission, treatment and outcome of patients admitted to intensive care unit with severe head injury and compare with other countries.

In this study we looked retrospectively at the incidence of severe head injuries admitted to the intensive care unit at Reykjavik Hospital 1994-1998. Number of patients, type of injury, length of stay, length of ventilator treatment. Glasgow Coma Score (GCS), APACHE II (Acute Physiologic and Chronic Health Evaluation) score and mortality was analysed.

A total of 236 patients was admitted with an average of 47 patients per year. Traffic accidents were the most common cause of injury and mortality was 11.7%. Ethanol consumption was seen in many cases where fall was the cause of accident, most often in the year 1998 in 75% of cases. Mortality of patients with GCS 8 that was 40% of the patients was must higher or 24.7% compared with patients with GCS >8 where mortality was 3.4%. There was an increase in admissions in 1998, with more severe injuries and significantly longer length of stay and ventilator treatment.

Number of patients with head injury was decreasing in comparison with older studies. The results of treatment are rather good in comparison with other countries with relatively low mortality, or 11.7% versus 15-20% in nearby countries. There has been improvement of outcome in patients with the most severe head injury (GCS 8) since 20 years ago, where up to 50% of the patients died but in our study mortality was 24.7%. Alcohol consumption was seen in 46% of cases where fall was the cause of head injury. Those that suffer head trauma are most often young people and preventive measures must continue with full strength in order to decrease the incidence of accidents in our society.