Head CT > Trauma > Epidemiology

Epidemiology

In the United States, approximately one million people are treated and released from hospital emergency rooms for traumatic brain injury every year. 80,000 Americans experience the onset of long-term disability and 50,000 Americans die as a result of traumatic brain injury each year. Approximately 45% of injuries result from transportation accidents, 26% from falls, and 17% from assaults. Other causes, such as sports injuries, comprise the remainder of cases. Two-thirds of the patients are less than 30 years of age, and men are twice as likely as are women to be injured. The cost of traumatic brain injury is $48.3 billion dollars annually. The estimated cost for a 36-hour stay at the hospital for a minor head injury that resulted in a loss of consciousness is around $13,000. A patient who experiences severe head injury in his mid twenties is estimated to have a lifetime cost of four million dollars including lost work hours, medical and daily care. Thus, head injuries are a substantial concern in the United States.