Abstract:
INTRODUCTION
TBI is a major cause of death and disability worldwide.
Each year, in Europe, around 2.5 million people suffer a
TBI, and 1 million require appropriate medical care. Injury
prevention for the Republic of Moldova and Georgia, two
middle-income countries, is one of the priority areas for
public health surveillance; however, there are few data
reported concerning TBI.
OBJECTIVES
This study aimed to identify the frequency and characteristics
of TBI among patients treated in the largest trauma
hospitals in both capital cities, Chisinau and Tbilisi.
METHODS
A prospective study was conducted among TBI patients
within 4 large hospitals (2 in each country) offering care
for injured patients. Data were collected between March
1 – August 31, 2019, using a TBI Registry modeled after
WHO and US trauma system registries. The Registry contained
information from existing patient medical records
and additional information from medical providers that
is not routinely included in medical documentation. Red-
Cap was used for electronic data collection and SPSS software
for data analysis. Ethics Committee approval was
obtained from all institutions.
RESULTS
In total, 910 TBI patients were hospitalized: 542 cases
in Georgia and 368 in the Republic of Moldova. Patients’
ages ranged from 1 month to 94 years; the average age
was 32.1 for MD and 17.7 for GE. In both countries, prevail
males (69.3% MD, 63% GE). The ambulance was the principal
source of hospital arrival (97% MD, 60% GE), mostly
patients arrived with stable vital signs. Most of TBI cases
(90%) in both countries happened in urban areas, and
within home environment (32% GE, 28% MD). Most of TBI
hospitalizations (95% GE, 88.9% MD) were unintentional
injuries, and 9.8% MD and 2% GE - work-related injuries.
The main causes of TBI were falls (58% GE, 53.5% MD)
mainly among males. Follows, road traffic crashes in MD
(30.7%) mainly in transport areas and struck by or against
an object in GE (22%) with most cases in 15–24 age group.
Almost half of the injured in road traffic were passengers
in a vehicle (45% GE, 36.3% MD), pedestrians (43.4% MD,
30% GE), cyclists (15% GE, 11.5%MD), and motorcyclists
(11% GE, 7.1% MD).
CONCLUSION
This study offers valuable TBI information in both countries
to develop appropriate preventive measures. Results
provide argumentations of an injury registry for
comparable data among countries and highlight areas of
research.
