Head injuries in Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong

The Vietnamese refugee camps in Hong Kong represent a unique social situation, where as many as 55 000 people have at one time lived. The Neurosurgical Division of the Prince of Wales Hospital receives all head injured patients from two of the largest camps for management. A retrospective analysis was undertaken of all Vietnamese patients hospitalised with head injuries over a four year period from January 1990 to December 1993. Our results showed that there was a higher incidence of head injuries as compared to epidemiological studies in the USA (Marshall, 1981) and Britain (Jennett, 1981), with the highest risk group being children aged 12 years and below. The majority of head injuries were minor, with the most common cause being a fall from bed. With these findings, appropriate preventive measures were advised and steps were taken to reduce the incidence of head injuries amongst the Vietnamese children.