Traumatic brain injury is the leading cause of death and disability in young adults around the world and leads to nearly half of all trauma deaths. As the leading cause of head injury around the world, Road Traffic Crashes (RTC) account for 40–50% of all cases hospitalised for TBI. Data from the WHO Global Burden of Disease study in 2002 shows that, of those injured severely enough to require attention from a health facility, almost one quarter had a traumatic brain injury. Some of the world’s highest injury and mortality rates are found in some Asian countries and many studies in Nepal have indicated that there is significant morbidity and mortality due to head injuries and the incidence is increasing every year.
Head injury is the most important cause of death from road crashes and, indeed, up to 60% of Traumatic Brain Injury is due to road traffic incidents. Studies from various parts of Nepal have shown that a significant number of head injuries associated with road traffic crashes also affect multiple organs, posing a significant burden to the healthcare.