Facts about Head Injury

Everyday, men, women and children suffer head injuries. A trip or fall, a car accident, a sports injury – these everyday injuries can range in severity from concussion to coma. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) can be fatal or, in survivors, can produce persistent problems that significantly affect the livelihood and well-being of millions around the globe.

• India has the rather unenviable distinction of having the highest rate of head injury in the world. In India, more than 100,000 lives are lost every year with over 1 million suffering from serious head injuries.
• In India, 1 out of 6 trauma victims die, while in the United States this figure is 1 out of 200. This seemingly unbreachable gap speaks volumes of the perfected PTC procedures in US and their near absence in India..
• Half of those who die from TBI do so within the first two hours of injury. It is now known that only a portion of neurological damage occurs at the moment of impact (primary injury); damage progresses during the ensuing minutes, hours and days. The secondary brain injury can result in increased mortality and disability.
• Consequently, the early and appropriate management of TBI is critical to the survival of these patients. This while being a critical factor in the overall prospects of a patient is yet to be fully appreciated.
• In 1991, 60,000 people were killed in road traffic accidents (RTA’s), as compared to 24,600 in 1980. This figure is now closing in on 100,000 deaths per year.
• Ninety-five percent of trauma victims in India do not receive optimal care during the “golden hour” period after an injury is sustained, in which health care administration is critical. The outcome of TBI is drastically correlated to the response of pre-hospital care and rehabilitation. Thirty percent of those who currently die from head injuries could be saved if quality care were available to them sooner.
• Most road traffic accident victims are in the 20- to 40-year age group, the main bread-earners of the family, putting the whole family below the poverty line in many cases while depriving society of vital drivers of economy as in many cases these are entrepreneurs or professionals.
• Pedestrians and motorcyclists are the most common victims of road traffic accidents in India.
• By 2050, India will have the greatest number of automobiles on the planet, overtaking the United States.