ABSTRACT

Background

The majority of studies investigating the epidemiology of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in sub-Saharan Africa are primarily hospital-based, missing fatal, mild, and other cases of TBI that do not present to formal care settings. This study aims to bridge this gap in data by describing the epidemiology of TBI in the Southwest Region of Cameroon.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional community-based study. Using a three-stage cluster sampling, local research assistants surveyed households with a pre-tested questionnaire to identify individuals with symptoms of TBI in nine health districts in the Southwest Region of Cameroon from 2016 to 2017.

Results

Data gathered on 8,065 individuals revealed 78 cases of suspected TBI. Road traffic injury (RTI) comprised 55% of subjects’ mechanism of injury. Formal medical care was sought by 82.1% of subjects; three subjects died at the time of injury. Following injury, 59% of subjects reported difficulty affording basic necessities and 87.2% of subjects were unable to perform activities of their primary occupation.

Conclusions

This study postulates an incidence of TBI in Southwest Cameroon of 975.57 per 100,000 individuals, significantly greater than prior findings. A large proportion of TBI is secondary to RTI.

中文翻译：

---

基于喀麦隆西南地区居民临床症状的创伤性脑损伤流行病学：一项基于社区的研究

摘要

背景

大多数调查撒哈拉以南非洲地区外伤性脑损伤 (TBI) 流行病学的研究主要是基于医院的，遗漏了致命、轻度和其他未出现在正规医疗机构的 TBI 病例。本研究旨在通过描述喀麦隆西南地区 TBI 的流行病学来弥合这一数据差距。

方法

这是一项基于社区的横断面研究。2016 年至 2017 年，当地研究助理使用三阶段整群抽样，通过预先测试的问卷调查家庭，以确定喀麦隆西南地区九个卫生区出现 TBI 症状的个体。

结果

收集到的 8,065 个人的数据显示 78 例疑似 TBI。道路交通伤害 (RTI) 占受试者伤害机制的 55%。82.1% 的受试者寻求正规医疗；三名受试者在受伤时死亡。受伤后，59% 的受试者报告难以负担基本必需品，87.2% 的受试者无法进行其主要职业的活动。

结论

该研究假设喀麦隆西南部的 TBI 发生率为每 100,000 人 975.57，显着高于先前的发现。很大一部分 TBI 继发于 RTI。