[Treatment of traumatic brain injury in Germany]

The relationship between severe, moderate and mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) as well as the course of treatment and quality management, were studied in a 1-year prospective study in regions of Hannover and Münster Germany. A total of 6,783 patients were documented at the initial examination (58.4% male, 28.1% children <16 years old) and 63.5% participated in the follow-up survey 1 year after the accident. Of these TBI patients 5,220 (73%) were admitted to hospital for clinical treatment but only 258 (<4%) received inpatient rehabilitation. The incidence of TBI was 332/100,000 inhabitants and according to the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) brain injury was mild in 90.9%, severe in 5.2% and moderate in 3.9%. The main cause of injury was a fall (52.5%) followed by a traffic accident (26.3%). In-hospital mortality was 1%. Only 56% of TBI patients were neurological examined and 63% were examined in hospital within the first hour after the accident. An immediate x-ray of the skull with a doubtful evidential value was made in 82%. Of the participants 35.9% were still receiving medical treatment 1 year after the accident although the majority only suffered mild TBI. An overabundance of severe socioeconomic consequences, e.g. loss of job, accommodation, family, were also found following only mild TBI.