Mortality due to road traffic injury (RTIs) in Kenya was estimated at 20.9 per 100,000 population in 2010.1 Road Traffic Accidents are on the increase in Kenya, particularly in Nairobi, which is burdened with increased traffic flow.
There are less than twenty registered neurosurgeons in the country, the majority of whom are stationed in the capital city, Nairobi. To achieve the WHO millennium goals of quality health provision in neurosurgery, Kenya would need 200 neurosurgeons. It is clear that to reduce the number of head injury deaths we would need among other measures to a) prevent them, and b) improve the management of those that get them by increasing accessibility to neurocare.
As intracranial haematomas are a major cause of death following head injury, the CRASH-3 trial will play a big part in establishing the role of bleeding and the effect of its reduction in head injury morbidity and mortality. We anticipate that the results of the study will positively contribute to head injury care in our region.