Functional recovery following head injury among children.

Head injury is a p r imary cause of death and disabil i ty a mong chi ldren and adolescents. In 1985 approximately 78,000 children under the age of 15 were hospitalized for treatment of head injury. 1 On the basis of pilot data f rom s ta tewide survei l lance systems in Colorado, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Utah, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevent ion (CDC) est imates the incidence of traumatic head injury at 93 per 100,000 for children under 5 years of age and 70 per 100,000 for children aged 5 to 14 years. 2 Improvements in acute management of head injury has resul ted in greater surv ivorsh ip among chi ldren who sustain severe head injury; however, many of these children will be left with lifelong disabilities. In addition, changes in heal th care pol icy have resul ted in shorter lengths of stay, fewer hospitalizations, and a greater involvement of the primary-care physician as a gatekeeper. As a result, pediatricians and other pr imary care physic ians m a y be increasingly involved in the management of children who have sustained head injuries.