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Objective: Incidence and short‐term outcomes of clinically important traumatic brain injury (ciTBI) in head‐injured children presenting to ED with post‐traumatic seizure (PTS) is not described in current literature. Methods: Planned secondary analysis of a prospective observational study undertaken in 10 Australasian Paediatric Research in Emergency Departments International Collaborative (PREDICT) network EDs between 2011 and 2014 of head‐injured children <18 years with and without PTS. Clinical predictors and outcomes were analysed by attributable risk (AR), risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI), including the association with Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores. Results: Of 20 137 head injuries, 336 (1.7%) had PTS with median age of 4.8 years. Initial GCS was 15 in 268/336 (79.8%, AR −16.1 [95% CI −20.4 to −11.8]), 14 in 24/336 (7.1%, AR 4.4 [95% CI 1.6–7.2]) and ≤13 in 44/336 (13.1%, AR 11.7 [95% CI 8.1–15.3]) in comparison with those without PTS, respectively. The ciTBI rate was 34 (10.1%) with PTS versus 219 (1.1%) without PTS (AR 9.0 [95% CI 5.8–12.2]) with 5/268 (1.9%), 6/24 (25.0%) and 23/44 (52.3%) with GCS 15, 14 and ≤13, respectively. In PTS, rates of admission ≥2 nights (34 [10.1%] AR 9.0 [95% CI 5.8–12.3]), intubation >24 h (9 [2.7%] AR 2.5 [95% CI 0.8–4.2]) and neurosurgery (8 [2.4%] AR 2.0 [95% CI 0.4–3.7]), were higher than those without PTS. Children with PTS and GCS 15 or 14 had no neurosurgery, intubations or death, with two deaths in children with PTS and GCS ≤13. Conclusions: PTS was uncommon in head‐injured children presenting to the ED but associated with an increased risk of ciTBI in those with reduced GCS on arrival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Although there is a large body of research on head injury (HI) inflicted by caregivers in young children, little is known about intentional HI in older children and inflicted HI by perpetrators other than carers. Therefore, we set out to describe epidemiology, demographics and severity of intentional HIs in childhood. Methods: A planned secondary analysis of a prospective multicentre cohort study was conducted in 10 EDs in Australia and New Zealand, including children aged <18 years with HIs. Epidemiology codes were used to prospectively code the injuries. Demographic and clinical information including the rate of clinically important traumatic brain injury (ciTBI: HI leading to death, neurosurgery, intubation >1 day or admission ≥2 days with abnormal computed tomography [CT]) was descriptively analysed. Results: Intentional injuries were identified in 372 of 20 137 (1.8%) head‐injured children. Injuries were caused by caregivers (103, 27.7%), by peers (97, 26.1%), by siblings (47, 12.6%), by strangers (35, 9.4%), by persons with unknown relation to the patient (21, 5.6%), other intentional injuries (8, 2.2%) or undetermined intent (61, 16.4%). About 75.7% of victims of assault by caregivers were <2 years, whereas in other categories, only 4.9% were <2 years. Overall, 66.9% of victims were male. Rates of CT performance and abnormal CT varied: assault by caregivers 68.9%/47.6%, by peers 18.6%/27.8%, by strangers 37.1%/5.7%. ciTBI rate was 22.3% in assault by caregivers, 3.1% when caused by peers and 0.0% with other perpetrators. Conclusions: Intentional HI is infrequent in children. The most frequently identified perpetrators are caregivers and peers. Caregiver injuries are particularly severe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of traumatic brain injuries in children who vomit after head injury and identify variables from published clinical decision rules (CDRs) that predict increased risk. METHODS: Secondary analysis of the Australasian Paediatric Head Injury Rule Study. Vomiting characteristics were assessed and correlated with CDR predictors and the presence of clinically important traumatic brain injury (ciTBI) or traumatic brain injury on computed tomography (TBI-CT). Isolated vomiting was defined as vomiting without other CDR predictors. RESULTS: Of the 19 920 children enrolled, 3389 (17.0%) had any vomiting, with 2446 (72.2%) >2 years of age. In 172 patients with ciTBI, 76 had vomiting (44.2%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 36.9%-51.7%), and in 285 with TBI-CT, 123 had vomiting (43.2%; 95% CI 37.5%-49.0%o). With isolated vomiting, only 1 (0.3%; 95% CI 0.0%-0.9%) had ciTBI and 2 (0.6%; 95% CI 0.0%-1.4%o) had TBI-CT. Predictors of increased risk of ciTBI with vomiting by using multivariate regression were as follows: signs of skull fracture (odds ratio [OR] 80.1; 95% CI 43.4-148.0), altered mental status (OR 2.4; 95% CI 1.0-5.5), headache (OR 2.3; 95% CI 1.3-4.1), and acting abnormally (OR 1.86; 95% CI 1.0-3.4). Additional features predicting TBI-CT were as follows: skull fracture (OR 112.96; 95% CI 66.76-191.14), nonaccidental injury concern (OR 6.75; 95% CI 1.54-29.69), headache (OR 2.55; 95% CI 1.52-4.27), and acting abnormally (OR 1.83; 95% CI 1.10-3.06). CONCLUSIONS: TBI-CT and ciTBI are uncommon in children presenting with head injury with isolated vomiting, and a management strategy of observation without immediate computed tomography appears appropriate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]