ABSTRACT
There are approximately one million patients who present and 150000 admitted to hospitals in the UK each year with head injuries. Almost half of them are aged under 16 years old. Fifty percent of all trauma deaths result from head injuries. Of deaths that occur in patients who reach hospital alive, two-thirds are due to head injury and these head-injured patients are the most common cause of life-long disability. Approximately 8 severe, 18 moderate and 280 minor head injuries occur per year per 100000 population in England and Wales. The annual incidence of disability in adults with head injuries admitted to hospital is 100-150 per 100000. The most common causes of injury are falls (41%), assaults (20%) and road traffic accidents (13%).
