Outcome from severe head injury in children and adolescents

A consecutive series of 37 children (17 years old and under) with severe head injury is presented. The data confirm that morbidity and mortality are lower in children than in adults: 51% of these young patients had a good recovery or moderate disability at 6 months. The mortality rate in this series (33%) is higher than in some reports, but probably more closely approximates the death rate from these injuries in an unselected pediatric population than do statistics from tertiary care hospitals. There was no significant relationship between age and outcome in this age group, but mass lesions and uncontrolled intracranial hypertension adversely affected outcome. Diffuse cerebral swelling was commonly seen on computerized tomography scans, and generally was associated with a satisfactory outcome (75%). Two of 13 deaths were considered preventable, emphasizing the narrow therapeutic safety margin and extreme care required in treating these patients.