[Head and neck injuries: 184 cases in Mali].

This prospective descriptive study was carried out from August 2007 to January 2008 in the emergency surgery department of Gabriel Touré Hospital in Bamako, Mali. A series of 184 patients treated for head and neck injuries was compiled. Patients presenting strictly neurosurgical lesions were excluded. Most of the patients included in this series were young single city-dwelling males (mean, age, 27 years; M/F sex ratio, 4.3. Most injuries were sustained in road traffic accidents (93%). The most common injuries were epistaxis and multiple fractures of facial bones, cervical spine and petrosal bone. These injuries ere often associated with avulsive wounds involving the external ear and nose. The main complication risks fell into four categories, i.e., circulatory loss, upper airway obstruction, functional and/or morphological impairment, and coma-related death (Glasgow score < 8). Shortage of medication and/or disposable treatment kits was a major handicap for optimal management of head and neck injuries.