Profile of victims of traumatic brain injury treated at a university hospital

Introduction: Cranioencephalic trauma is one of the causes that contributes most to the high death rate and permanent sequelae among the population, which generates socioeconomic harm to society as a whole, and thus becomes a worrying factor for collective health in the population. Which concerns the promotion of health. Objective: to identify the profile of traumatic brain injury patients treated at the emergency room of a Brazilian university hospital. Materials and Methods: quantitative, descriptive-exploratory study. Secondary data were collected from 158 patients seen between February and June 2013. The analyzes were performed using simple statistics. Results: the majority were male (n = 112, 70.9%), aged up to 29 years (n = 92, 58.2%) and students (n = 47, 29.7%). Traffic accident was the main mechanism of trauma (n = 58; 36.7%). Victims who remained in the emergency room after 24 hours of care (n = 87, 55.1%) and with mild trauma (n = 88, 55.7%) were predominant. Conclusion: the majority of the victims of cranioencephalic trauma in the research institution occur with men, young adults, economically active, who are cared for by Integrated Emergency Care Service and who are involved in traffic accidents. Descriptors: Brain injury; External causes; Health profile; Nursing.