Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 17, 2026
Development of an Uncomplicated Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Model Modified by Weight-Drop Method and Evidenced by Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Published on: April 11, 2025
Head trauma in China
1Department of Neurosurgery, Shanghai Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, School of Medicine, Shanghai 200127, China.
Insights
The Chinese Head Trauma Data Bank (CHTDB) analyzed 7,145 acute head trauma cases. Severe head trauma, high intracranial pressure, herniation, and multiple contusions significantly increased mortality risk, aiding outcome prediction.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Trauma Surgery
- Public Health
Background:
- Acute traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant cause of mortality and disability worldwide.
- Establishing comprehensive data banks is crucial for understanding TBI epidemiology and improving patient outcomes.
- The Chinese Head Trauma Data Bank (CHTDB) was created to address these needs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish the Chinese Head Trauma Data Bank (CHTDB) with a large cohort of hospitalized acute head trauma patients.
- To investigate factors influencing mortality in patients with acute traumatic brain injury.
- To provide data that can assist neurosurgeons in predicting TBI outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 7,145 hospitalized acute head trauma cases from 47 hospitals within the CHTDB.
- Exploration of demographic, injury severity, and physiological parameters as potential predictors of mortality.
- Statistical comparison of mortality rates across different patient groups and injury characteristics.
Main Results:
- Mortality rates did not significantly differ between males and females, or across pediatric, adult, and elderly age groups.
- Mortality rates were significantly higher in patients with severe head trauma (21.8%), elevated intracranial pressure (>40 mm Hg, 93.1%), tentorial herniation (up to 78.8%), and multiple cerebral contusions (14.8%).
- The presence of traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (9.5%) and multiple intracranial hematomas (20.6%) also correlated with increased mortality.
Conclusions:
- The CHTDB represents a significant resource, being one of the largest head trauma data banks globally.
- Key factors such as injury severity, intracranial pressure, brain herniation, and the presence of multiple lesions are critical determinants of mortality in acute head trauma.
- These findings offer valuable insights for neurosurgeons in predicting patient prognosis and guiding clinical management.
Objective:
The Chinese Head Trauma Data Bank (CHTDB) has been established, which includes 7,145 hospitalised cases with acute head trauma patients in 47 hospitals.
Methods:
We explored factors that might affect the outcome of acute traumatic brain injury.
Results:
There was no statistical difference in the mortality rate between male (7.5%) and female (7.2%) patients (P>0.05). The mortality rate in children (<18 years), adults (18-65 years) and elderly (>65 years) was 7.3%, 7.2% and 9.0%, respectively (P>0.05). The mortality rate of patients with mild (2.7%), moderate (5.0%) and severe (21.8%) head trauma was significantly different (P<0.001). The mortality rate of patients with unilateral tentorial herniation, bilateral tentorial herniation and tonsillar herniation was 24.2%, 60.2% and 78.8% respectively (P<0.001). The mortality rate of patients with intracranial pressure (ICP)<20 mm Hg, 20-40 mm Hg and >40 mm Hg was 6.3%, 21.4% and 93.1%, respectively (P<0.001). The mortality rate of patients with no cerebral contusion, single cerebral contusion and multiple cerebral contusions was 3.9%, 7.8% and 14.8%, respectively (P<0.001). The mortality rate of patients with and without traumatic subarachnoid haemorrhage (tSAH) was 9.5% and 5.4%, respectively (P<0.001). The mortality rate of patients with no intracranial haematomas, single intracranial haematoma and multiple intracranial haematomas was 5.8%, 8.4% and 20.6%, respectively (P<0.001).
Conclusion:
The CHTDB, the first head trauma data bank in China, has one of the largest numbers of cases of any head trauma data bank in the world. Our major findings on mortality may be helpful to neurosurgeons for predicting the outcome of acute head trauma patients.
