Abstract
Background
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major public health issue, with a significant socio-economic burden. In France, very little is known about TBI epidemiology, and the TBI population is mainly described via studies carried out on the most severe patients. A large number of studies showed that a significant proportion of patients suffer from long-term disability after mild TBI (mTBI). This Post-Concussive Syndrome (PCS) remains poorly known by health professionals. Identifying early prognostic factors for the development of PCS is therefore essential, since it can ensure widespread clinical and economic benefits. This work aims at providing an updated description of the incidence of mild TBI (mTBI) based on data from Emergency Departments (ED) in the Ile-de-France (IDF) region (Paris area).
Methods
We estimated the mTBI incidence, using mainly data from the OSCOUR (Organisation de la Surveillance Coordonnée des Urgences) database from 01/01/2011 to 31/12/2015. The OSCOUR Network data collection methodology is based on the registration of all patients visiting the emergency services (ED) of participating hospitals. An extrapolation of the proportion of TBI patients visiting an OSCOUR ED to all ED of the IDF allowed us to compute a mTBI Annual Incidence Rate (AIR) in IDF.
Results
Between 2011 and 2015, 95,910 mTBI patients visited the OSCOUR ED in IDF, and the AIR was estimated at 292.4/100,000 inhabitants (when reported to the French population scale: a total of 196,000 mTBI are supposed to happen each year).
Conclusions
The surprisingly high incidence rate of mTBI observed in this study requires an evaluation of public health measures to prevent these injuries and reduce their consequences. New screening procedures should be implemented to point out the patients at risk for complications and PCS. Alongside the care aspect, prevention should be developed to reduce the incidence of TBIs, and prevention policies should be assessed by reiterating our evaluation.
Key messages
Between 2011 and 2015, 95,910 mTBI patients visited the OSCOUR Emergency Departments in Ile de France, and the annual incident rate was estimated at 292.4/100,000 inhabitants. The mTBI high incidence rate requires an evaluation of public health measures to prevent these injuries and reduce their consequences, but also the implementation of new screening procedures.
How to estimate mild Traumatic Brain Injury Incidence? The interest of Emergency Departments data
