Table 3.
Characteristics of patient population with head injury as defined by WHO International Classification of Disease 10 code block ‘injury to the head’ by age group. All data are presented as n (%) unless otherwise noted.
| Characteristic | All patients (n=33) | <5 years (n=2) | ≤17 years (n=5) | 18–64 years (n=28) | ≥65 years (n=0) |
| Age, mean (SD) | 29 (14) | 3 (1) | 5 (2) | 33 (10) | |
| Sex | |||||
| Male | 28 (85) | 2 (100) | 4 (80) | 24 (86) | |
| Female | 5 (15) | 0 (0) | 1 (20) | 4 (14) | |
| Mode of arrival | |||||
| Private vehicle | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (4) | |
| Taxi/bus | 8 (24) | 1 (50) | 2 (40) | 6 (21) | |
| Ambulance | 12 (36) | 1 (50) | 1 (20) | 11 (39) | |
| Walked | 6 (18) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 6 (21) | |
| Carried | 3 (9) | 0 (0) | 2 (40) | 1 (4) | |
| Wheelchair | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (4) | |
| Unknown/blank | 2 (6) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 2 (7) | |
| Transferred | |||||
| Yes | 13 (39) | 2 (100) | 2 (40) | 11 (39) | |
| No | 20 (61) | 0 (0) | 3 (60) | 17 (61) | |
| Unknown | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | |
| Acuity level (estimated)* | |||||
| Emergency (red) | 4 (12) | 0 (0) | 1 (20) | 3 (11) | |
| Very urgent (orange) | 8 (24) | 1 (50) | 2 (40) | 6 (21) | |
| Urgent (yellow) | 12 (36) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 12 (43) | |
| Routine | 7 (21) | 1 (50) | 1 (20) | 6 (21) | |
| Not assigned/unknown/other | 2 (6) | 0 (0) | 1 (20) | 1 (4) | |
| Trauma history† | |||||
| Any | 31 (94) | 1 (50) | 4 (80) | 27 (96) | |
| Road traffic accident | 13 (39) | 1 (50) | 2 (40) | 11 (39) | |
| Wearing seatbelt | |||||
| Yes | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | |
| No | 4 (31) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 4 (36) | |
| Unknown | 7 (54) | 1 (100) | 2 (100) | 5 (45) | |
| Not recorded | 2 (15) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 2 (18) | |
| Motor or bicyclist | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (4) | |
| Wearing helmet (n=1) | |||||
| Yes | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | |
| No | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | |
| Unknown | 1 (100) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (100) | |
| Assault | 12 (36) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 12 (43) | |
| Pedestrian | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (4) | |
| Burn | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | |
| Self-inflicted | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (4) | |
| Fall | 3 (9) | 0 (0) | 2 (40) | 1 (4) | |
| Disposition | |||||
| Discharge from A&E | 19 (58) | 1 (50) | 3 (60) | 16 (57) | |
| Admit to hospital | 5 (15) | 1 (50) | 1 (20) | 5 (18) | |
| DOA | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | |
| Death in A&E | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (4) | |
| DAMA/eloped | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (4) | |
| Transfer to outside hospital | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (4) | |
| Consultant ‘Review’ | 3 (9) | 0 (0) | 1 (20) | 2 (7) | |
| ‘Missing/incomplete’ or disposition field blank | 2 (6) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 2 (7) | |
*Determined by research assistants and/or primary investigator utilising the South African Triage Scale(SATS).20
†Collected by research assistants. Categories are not mutually exclusive.
A&E, accident and emergency department; DOA, death on arrival; DAMA, discharged against medical advice.