Hospital admissions for traumatic brain injury of Austrian residents vs. of visitors to Austria

Abstract

Background: The goal was to compare epidemiology of hospital admissions for traumatic brain injury (TBI) in Austrian residents vs. visitors to Austria.

Methods: Data on all hospital admissions due to TBI (ICD-10 codes S06.0–S06.9; years 2009–2011) was provided by the Austrian Statistical Office. Data on Austrian population and on tourism (visitor numbers, nights spent) was retrieved from www.statistik.at. Age, sex, mechanism of injury, season and mortality was analysed for Austrian residents vs. visitors.

Results: Visitors contributed 3.9% to the total population and 9.2% of all TBI cases. Incidence of hospital admissions was 292/100 000/year in Austrian residents and was 727/100 000/year in visitors. Male:female ratio was 1.39:1 in Austrian residents and 1.55:1 in visitors. Austrian cases were older than visitors’ cases (mean age 41 vs. 28 years). Austrian cases were distributed evenly over the seasons, while 75% of the visitors’ cases happened during winter and spring. The most frequently observed causes of TBI in Austrian residents were private accidents, while sports caused almost half of the visitors’ cases. Hospital mortality was lower in visitors than in Austrian residents (0.8 vs. 2.1%).

Conclusion: Sports-related TBI of visitors causes a significant workload for Austrian hospitals. Better prevention is warranted.

• Age
• outcome
• sex
• tourists
• traumatic brain injury
• winter sports

Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to Dr Erika Baldaszti (Statistik Austria) who provided data on hospital admissions of patients with TBI. We are very grateful to Dr Michael Szivak (Austrian Worker’s Compensation Board) who provided data from Austrian trauma hospitals that allowed for calculation for re-admission rates of TBI patients.