Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Mar-Apr;39(2):390-394.
doi: 10.12669/pjms.39.2.6371.

Outcome of head injury in motorbike riders

Shakeel Ahmad  1 , Lal Rehman  2 , Ali Afzal  3 , Farrukh Javeed  4
Affiliations

Outcome of head injury in motorbike riders

Shakeel Ahmad et al. Pak J Med Sci. 2023 Mar-Apr.

Abstract

Objective: To determine the impact of helmet wearing on traumatic brain injury.

Methods: We analyzed 400 cases of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in motorbike riders with and without helmet, from July 2017 to December 2020 presenting to the neurosurgery department at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC), Karachi, Pakistan. The medical records were analyzed for CT scan findings, length of hospital stay, complications (mortality and disability), Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and Glasgow outcome score (GOS) at time of discharge.

Result: A total of 400 patients with head injury due to motorbike accidents were included and all were male patients. They were equally divided into two groups, 200 in Group-A (with helmet) and 200 in Group-B (without helmet). Majority of the unhelmeted patients i.e. 102 (51%), needed admission in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) compared to 70 (35%) in helmeted. When comparing non-helmeted patients to helmeted patients, the total median length of hospital stay was greater among non-helmeted patients (10 vs 05 days). Mortality was higher among non-helmeted patients seen in 50 (25%) as compared to 14 (7%) in helmeted patients. Overall, the good outcome was observed in 119 (59.5%) patients in Group-A as compared to70 (35%) patients in Group-B while 81 (40.5%) showed bad outcome in Group-A and 130 (64%) in Group-B. The failure to wear a helmet was found to be strongly linked with abnormal neuroimaging more complications, poor outcome and lower GCS on discharge as compared to patients using helmet.

Conclusion: Lack of helmet use is linked to abnormal brain imaging, more complications, and a longer stay in the hospital after a head injury.

Keywords: GCS; GOS; Helmet use; Motorbike accidents; RTA; TBI.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. World Health Organization. Global Status Report on Road Safety 2015. [Accessed on 19 October 2015]. Available online: http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_safety_status/2015/GS....
    1. Muhammad K, Shaikh S, Ashraf J, Hayat S. Characteristics, reasons and patterns of Road Traffic Injuries presenting in emergency department of a tertiary care public hospital in Karachi. Pak J Med Sci. 2022;38(4 Part-II):862–867. doi: 10.12669/pjms.38.4.4490. - PMC - PubMed
    1. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Traffic Safety Facts 2013 Data: Motorcycle; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: Washington, DC, USA. 2015
    1. Sung KM, Noble J, Kim SC, Jeon HJ, Kim JY, Do HH, et al. The Preventive Effect of Head Injury by Helmet Type in Motorcycle Crashes: A Rural Korean Single-Center Observational Study. Biomed Res Int 2016. 2016:1849134. doi: 10.1155/2016/1849134. - PMC - PubMed
    1. International Traffic Safety Data and Analysis Group. Road safety annual report 2015. 2016. [Accessed on 19 October 2015]. https://www.itf-oecd.org/

LinkOut - more resources