Profile of cranio-cerebral trauma and spinal cord trauma related road accidents in Guinea

Objective: To describe the profile of the patient injured in traffic accidents and having a cranio-cerebral trauma (CCT) or spinal cord trauma (SCT). Method: Cross-sectional and retrospective survey of records management in 2829 road accident victims with CCT and/or a SCT and admitted to a hospital in Guinea between 1st January and 31st December, 2009. The profile was described by: the sociodemographic data, the circumstances of the accident and the clinical, therapeutic and follow-up data. Results: For an average age of 27.1 ± 12.7 years, the location of the trauma was cranio-cerebral in 82.0% of cases, spinal in 8.9% of cases and mixed in 9.1%. A large proportion of CCT (66.3%) and mixed trauma (63.1%) comes from to two-wheeled vehicles, while the large proportion of SCT (54.2%) is attributable to vehicles with four wheels. The Glasgow Coma average was 13.2 ± 2.6 at admission, 21.7% of the victims are taken in charge beyond the first 12. hours after the accident. Only 19.2% of patients underwent a surgical treatment with a hospital mortality ranging from 3.3 % (TVM) to 7.7% (mixed). Conclusion: CCT and SCT are characterized by an age under 30 years and male predominance. The support care suffers greatly from the unbalanced distribution of qualified personnel on the national territory and the lack of material means. © 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS.