Background and Objective: Head injuries, due to their adverse consequences, impose substantial costs on healthcare, treatment, and rehabilitation systems. Implementing appropriate preventive strategies for the management of patients with head trauma requires initial epidemiologic assessments. This study aimed to investigate the epidemiologic characteristics of head injuries among patients presenting to the Emergency Department of Ganjavian Hospital in Dezful.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on all patients with head injuries who presented to the Emergency Department of Ganjavian Hospital in Dezful during 2019–2021. Demographic information, time and cause of injury, and clinical outcomes—including length of hospital stay—were collected using a structured checklist and analyzed.
Findings: A total of 996 patients with head injuries were evaluated. The leading causes of injury were road traffic accidents (46.66%), falls from height (9.7%), and physical assaults (4.61%). Among 83 patients with documented head trauma, 69 were male and 14 were female, indicating that men experienced head injuries nearly four times more frequently than women. Most injuries occurred during the spring season and late-night hours. Certain secondary complications and prolonged hospitalization were associated with the method of patient transport from the accident scene to the emergency department. The average length of hospital stay was 5.8 days.
Conclusion: The findings indicate that road traffic accidents are the most common cause of head injuries. Therefore, healthcare policymakers should reconsider the allocation of human resources and available facilities to improve trauma management and preventive strategies.