Rates of Hospitalization Related to Traumatic Brain Injury Nine States, 2003

In 2003, data from nine states participating in a traumatic brain injury (TBI) hospitalization surveillance project reported that the estimated TBI rate was 87.9 per 100,000, up from the 2002 estimate of 79 per 100,000. The states reported a total of 30,464 probable cases of TBI-related hospitalization.

The researchers reviewed 2003 TBI hospitalization data reported by nine states: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah. The data were analyzed by state, age, gender, and possible external cause. Overall, unintentional motor vehicle accidents and falls were the leading causes of TBI hospitalizations. The researchers cautioned that this prevalence estimate is limited because the study was based on administrative billing data that were not designed for public health surveillance. Thus, the data do not have the ability to reflect TBI-related preadmission deaths, persons treated for a TBI incident who were discharged from a emergency department, outpatient clinic, or physicians office; or persons who did not seek medical care after an injury.