Prevalence of Traumatic Brain Injury Among Trauma Patients in Ethiopia: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

• Published in: The annals of African surgery Vol. 18; no. 1; pp. 10 - 17
• Main Authors: Abate, Semagn Mekonnen, Abafita, Bedru Jemal, Bekele, Tesfanew
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Surgical Society of Kenya 09-02-2021
• Subjects: assault; ethiopia; head injury; road traffic accident
• ISSN: 1999-9674; 2523-0816
• DOI: 10.4314/aas.v18i1.3

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common cause of mortality and disability in young age populations, particularly in children and adolescents. The objective of this systematic review and metaanalysis was to assess the prevalence of TBI among trauma patients in Ethiopia.
Methods: A three-stage search strategy was conducted on PubMed/Medline, Science Direct and African Journals Online, and a grey literature search was conducted on Google Scholar. Data were analyzed with R version 3.6.1.
Results: The pooled prevalence of TBI in Ethiopia was 20% (95% confidence interval (CI), 11–32). Subgroup analysis revealed that road traffic accident was the commonest mechanism of injury in Ethiopia at 21% (95% IC, 15– 30), next was assault at 18% (95% CI, 5–48).
Conclusion: This review shows a high prevalence of TBI among trauma patients in Ethiopia when compared with continental and global reports. Policymakers and stakeholders should work on regulatory laws on transportation; pre-hospital emergency medical care system is also in high demand.Keywords: Head injury, Road traffic accident, Assault, Ethiopia