Outcome from head injury related to patient's age. A longitudinal prospective study of adult and pediatric head injury.

A series of 8814 head-injured patients admitted to 41 hospitals in three separate metropolitan areas were prospectively studied. Of these, 1906 patients (21.6%) were 14 years of age or less. This "pediatric population" was compared to the remaining "adult population" for mechanism of injury, admission Glasgow Coma Scale score, motor score, blood pressure, pupillary reactivity, the presence of associated injuries, and the presence of subdural or epidural hematoma. The relationship of each of these factors was then correlated with post-traumatic mortality. Except for patients found to have subdural hematoma and those who were profoundly hypotensive, the pediatric patients exhibited a significantly lower mortality rate compared to the adults, thus confirming this generally held view. This study indicates that age itself, even within the pediatric age range, is a major independent factor affecting the mortality rate in head-injured patients.