Risk factors and clinical presentation of traumatic cerebral hemorrhagic contusion in Sudanese patients at the National Center for Neurological Sciences, Khartoum, Sudan

Abstract

Background: Traumatic cerebral contusion is a major global health concern due to its association with poor clinical prognosis. The aim of this study is to determine the risk factors and clinical presentation of traumatic cerebral contusion in Sudan. Methods: A prospective cross- sectional observational hospital-based study was conducted in 90 patients with traumatic cerebral hemorrhagic contusion admitted to the National Center for Neurological Sciences (NCNS) over a period of six months. Results: The results show that most patients were male, age 25 to 44 years, 75.6% from rural areas, and 67.8 % from Afro-Asiatic linguistic affiliated tribes. The most common cause of traumatic brain hemorrhagic contusion was road traffic accidents (RTA) 68.9%, followed by assault 24.4%, and fall 6.7%. About 60% of the patients suffered a frontal lobe injury while 14.4% of the patients had multiple injury sites. Brain edema was observed in 22.2% of the patients. According to the Glasgow Coma Scale, 11.1% suffered severe, 30% moderate and 58.9% mild brain injury. Death rate was 8.9% Conclusion: In conclusion, male gender, age 25-44 years, rural residents and victims of RTA were the most common characteristics observed in patients with traumatic hemorrhagic brain contusion in Sudan. The study also observed that brain edema and anatomical site of hemorrhage were not associated with death while male gender and GCS were. Traumatic cerebral hemorrhagic contusion is a major public health issue in Sudan carrying significant socioeconomic effects.