Pre-hospital management of cranio encephalic trauma in South Saharan Africa: Cotonou experience

Abstract

The management of cranio-encephalic trauma begins at the site of the accident. This is one of the diseases for which pre-hospital care is well codified. The objective of this study is to report the experience of the Emergency Aid Medical Service (EMAS) of BENIN in the pre-hospital management of crianioencephalic trauma. 146 head injuries were cared for. 116 were male. The mean age was 32 years with extremes ranging from 2 to 77 years. Etiology in 68% of patients was a public road accident. And the request for the use of the SAMU was made by highway users for 41% of the injuries. About 5.5% were severe cranio-brain injuries, more than 75% of which had died in intensive care. In 77% of the SAMU interventions,  there was an intensive care physician in the team. 34 wounded had been transported in a vacuum mattress. The rigid cervical collar was used in 8 major traumas. All the wounded were transported by ambulance. The duration of hospitalization varied from a few hours in the emergency department to 90 days in the hospital ward. 09 patients died. One of them, who died in an ambulance, was a woman. The prehospital medical care of head trauma in BENIN is still progressing.

Keywords: Emergency, cranial trauma, Africa sub sahara, pre hospital management