Trauma is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality across the world with traumatic brain injury (TBI) being an important cause of trauma related deaths. The aim of our study was to review the medical charts of patients who died within 24 hours of presentation to our Hospital after head injury.

We received approval from the institutional review board to conduct a retrospective review of patient charts at Acharaya Vinoba Bhave Rural Hospital, in Sawangi (M), Maharashtra (India). All patients who died within 24 hours of the presentation to the emergency department (ED) and had been diagnosed with TBI were included in the study. We collected data from 113 charts between January 2007 and December 2009.

During this three year period, 113 patients died within 24 Hours of admission to the hospital. Of these, 37% (42/113) were diagnosed with (TBI). We conducted a chart review of these 42 patients. All our patients were brought to the ED by relatives or bystanders in non-ambulance vehicles. At the time of presentation to the ED, nearly all patients were normotensive, with only one patient with hypotension The Majority of our patients had a Glasgow Coma Scale of less than 5.

Our study brings to light various deficiencies in rural India, trauma care which include immediate rescue and transportation. Although patients were provided the optimum care in the ED, however it was not associated with favorable outcome. This highlights the need of a Trauma Registry to record real-time data which will help to improve care and systems.