Characteristics of patient population with head injury as defined by WHO International Classification of Disease 10 code block ‘injury to the head’ by age group. All data are presented as n (%) unless otherwise noted.
| Characteristic | All patients (n=33) | <5 years (n=2) | ≤17 years (n=5) | 18–64 years (n=28) | ≥65 years (n=0) |
| Age, mean (SD) | 29 (14) | 3 (1) | 5 (2) | 33 (10) | |
| Sex | |||||
| Male | 28 (85) | 2 (100) | 4 (80) | 24 (86) | |
| Female | 5 (15) | 0 (0) | 1 (20) | 4 (14) | |
| Mode of arrival | |||||
| Private vehicle | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (4) | |
| Taxi/bus | 8 (24) | 1 (50) | 2 (40) | 6 (21) | |
| Ambulance | 12 (36) | 1 (50) | 1 (20) | 11 (39) | |
| Walked | 6 (18) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 6 (21) | |
| Carried | 3 (9) | 0 (0) | 2 (40) | 1 (4) | |
| Wheelchair | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (4) | |
| Unknown/blank | 2 (6) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 2 (7) | |
| Transferred | |||||
| Yes | 13 (39) | 2 (100) | 2 (40) | 11 (39) | |
| No | 20 (61) | 0 (0) | 3 (60) | 17 (61) | |
| Unknown | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | |
| Acuity level (estimated)* | |||||
| Emergency (red) | 4 (12) | 0 (0) | 1 (20) | 3 (11) | |
| Very urgent (orange) | 8 (24) | 1 (50) | 2 (40) | 6 (21) | |
| Urgent (yellow) | 12 (36) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 12 (43) | |
| Routine | 7 (21) | 1 (50) | 1 (20) | 6 (21) | |
| Not assigned/unknown/other | 2 (6) | 0 (0) | 1 (20) | 1 (4) | |
| Trauma history† | |||||
| Any | 31 (94) | 1 (50) | 4 (80) | 27 (96) | |
| Road traffic accident | 13 (39) | 1 (50) | 2 (40) | 11 (39) | |
| Wearing seatbelt | |||||
| Yes | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | |
| No | 4 (31) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 4 (36) | |
| Unknown | 7 (54) | 1 (100) | 2 (100) | 5 (45) | |
| Not recorded | 2 (15) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 2 (18) | |
| Motor or bicyclist | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (4) | |
| Wearing helmet (n=1) | |||||
| Yes | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | |
| No | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | |
| Unknown | 1 (100) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (100) | |
| Assault | 12 (36) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 12 (43) | |
| Pedestrian | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (4) | |
| Burn | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | |
| Self-inflicted | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (4) | |
| Fall | 3 (9) | 0 (0) | 2 (40) | 1 (4) | |
| Disposition | |||||
| Discharge from A&E | 19 (58) | 1 (50) | 3 (60) | 16 (57) | |
| Admit to hospital | 5 (15) | 1 (50) | 1 (20) | 5 (18) | |
| DOA | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | |
| Death in A&E | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (4) | |
| DAMA/eloped | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (4) | |
| Transfer to outside hospital | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (4) | |
| Consultant ‘Review’ | 3 (9) | 0 (0) | 1 (20) | 2 (7) | |
| ‘Missing/incomplete’ or disposition field blank | 2 (6) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 2 (7) | |
*Determined by research assistants and/or primary investigator utilising the South African Triage Scale(SATS).20
†Collected by research assistants. Categories are not mutually exclusive.
A&E, accident and emergency department; DOA, death on arrival; DAMA, discharged against medical advice.