Rates of TBI-related Emergency Department Visits, Hospitalizations, and Deaths — United States, 2001–2010

In general, total combined rates for traumatic brain injury (TBI)-related emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations and deaths have increased over the past decade. Total combined rates of TBI-related hospitalizations, ED visits, and deaths climbed slowly from a rate of 521.0 per 100,000 in 2001 to 615.7 per 100,000 in 2005. The rates then dipped to 595.1 per 100,000 in 2006 and 566.7 per 100,000 in 2007. The rates then spiked sharply in 2008 and continued to climb through 2010 to a rate of 823.7 per 100,000.

Total combined rates of TBI-related hospitalizations, ED visits, and deaths are driven in large part by the relatively high number of TBI-related ED visits. In comparison to ED visits, the overall rates of TBI-related hospitalizations remained relatively stable changing from 82.7 per 100,000 in 2001 to 91.7 per 100,000 in 2010. TBI-related deaths also decreased slightly over time from 18.5 per 100,000 in 2001 to 17.1 per 100,000 in 2010. Note that the axis scale for TBI-related deaths appears to the right of the chart and differs from TBI-related hospitalizations and ED visits.