TY - JOUR T1 - What’s in a number? Problems with counting traumatic brain injuries JF - Emergency Medicine Journal JO - Emerg Med J DO - 10.1136/emermed-2021-212076 SP - emermed-2021-212076 AU - Benjamin Michael Bloom AU - Virginia Newcombe AU - Ian Roberts Y1 - 2021/11/22 UR - http://emj.bmj.com/content/early/2021/11/22/emermed-2021-212076.abstract N2 - Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide.1 In survivors, disability may persist for years after the initial injury. Even mild TBI can result in cognitive deficits, somatic symptoms (eg, headaches), mental health problems (eg, depression) and an increased risk of dementia.2 3 Accurate estimates of the incidence and prevalence of TBI are needed to inform polices on prevention, resource allocation and to meet the needs of those who have sustained a TBI. A recent Lancet Neurology Commission recommended that defining and recording accurate measurements of incidence, mortality and rates of access hospital care in patients with TBI is essential.1A recent analysis of the effect of the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network head injury guideline, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Guideline 176 (Head injury: assessment and early management), a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) evidence summary, and numerous peer-reviewed articles and web pages all cite an oft-used statistic that ‘1.4 million people attend emergency departments in England and Wales with a recent head injury each year’.4–6 This number has been reported in the medical literature for more than a quarter of a century and forms the basis of our understanding of the public health burden from TBI.Numerous peer-reviewed articles cite the oft-used statistic that 1.4 million people attend emergency departments in England and Wales each year. The original source of this statistic is elusive.The source of … ER -