AbstractIntroduction: Traumatic Brain Injuries are among the leading cause of mortality and morbidity world over. They are the leading cause of death among the younger age groups accounting for several indirect social and economic problems. This becomes more important in developing nations like India. Methodology: 30 pediatric and 30 adult patients that were admitted and diagnosed to have Diffuse axonal Injury were included in our study. The duration of the study was 6 months between June and November 2018 in the Institute of Neurosurgery, Madras Medical College. Discussion: Diffuse axonal injury is caused from widespread tearing of axons and small vessels by shearing forces and is defined as prolonged post-traumatic coma over 6 hours following injury without demonstrable mass lesion. Results: Of the 21 patients with Grade 1 DAI, all 21 had favorable outcome as defined by GOS 4 or 5. 13 of the 20 in Grade 2 DAI had favourable outcomes while only 5 of the 19 with Grade 3 DAI had favourable outcomes. Conclusion: In our study we were able to find out that while there was a statisticaly significant correlation between grade of DAI and the outcome (p=0.002), there was no statistically significant correlation between gender and the outcomes (p=0.3).
Keywords: Diffuse Axonal Injury; Traumatic Brain Injury; Mortality; Pediatrics.