Head Injuries due to traffic accidents are now the leading cause of death and long term disability in males between 30-50 years. Many patients with head injuries experience mild dysfunction of cognition without major neurosurgical problems, and this may interfere with successful rehabilitation. However, not many studies have been done to investigate the cognitive functioning following mild head injuries. The purpose of this study was to obtain injured patient's demographic data including medical, neuropsychological and social data, and to investigate the cause of injury and alcohol use at the time of injury. This study focused on the recovery of cognitive function in patients with head injuries and used the Mini Mental State Examination(MMSE) score and its correlation with demographic and social data. Data on 77 patients with minor head injuries who were admitted to the department of Neurosurgery in C and E hospital in Dae Jun from September 1991 to February 1992 were analyzed. The findings of this study are as follows ; 1) Out of the 77 cases reviewed in this study, 62 were male, 15 were female. 2) A higher incidence of injury was observed between 7:00 PM and 12:00 PM. 3) The most common cause of head injury in traffic accidents was pedestrian accidents, and the next most frequent cause was most motorcycle accidents. 4) Thirteen of the 77 cases in this study were under the influence of alcohol at the time of injury, and they were all male. 5) The MMSE scores one month after injury and at discharge were significantly lower in patients with head injuries that included skull fractures than in patients without skull fractures, suggesting lower cognitive function in patients with skull fractures. 6) The level of consciousness at admission and three days after admission measured by the GCS for drivers under the influence of alcohol was lower than for sober drivers. The MMSE score was also lower for drunken drivers. 7) The MMSE score one month after the injury had a reciprocal relationship with the age of the patient. 8) The MMSE score one month after the injury had at discharge were highly correlated with the duration of unconsciousness. 9) The MMSE score one month after injury and at discharge were highly correlated with the GCS scores at admission, three days after admission, and one week after admission.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the fluid balance of the patients who were either on soft fluid diet or total parenteral nutrition. We studied 19 patients with neurologic disorders and 22 patients with oromaxillary surgery who were admitted to either D university hospital in Choognam or S general hospital in Seoul between May and November 1995. The mean age lor the patients who had oromaxillary surgery was 24 years and their average hospital stay was 9 days. The mean age of the patients with neurologic disorders was 54 years and they were bedridden for average of 71 days. For the maxillary bone surgery patients we did not limit the range of their activities in the ward during data collection period. The patients with neurological disorders were bedridden and did not move around the ward. They were all either on soft fluid diet, or total parenteral nutrition. The findings of this study are as follows; 1) The difference of the triceps skinfold thickness between the baseline and the final measurement was 0.4cm for neurologic patient group and 0.5cm for oromaxillary surgery patient group. The difference was not statistically significant in each group. 2) In the oromaxillary surgery patient group, the daily intake of fluid in the form of pure water, other beverages, fluid diet as well as IV fluid was 4581ml while urine output was 2979ml. The difference between fluid intake and output was statistically significant, indicating that fluid intake was far more than urine output. In neurologic patient group, the daily intake of fluid including water from fluid diet and IV fluid was 2701ml whereas urine output was 2253ml and they were statistically significant. 3) For a more accurate assessment we adjusted the fluid balance based on weight changes during data collection period. In the oromaxillary surgery patient group, the difference between fluid intake and output was 1238ml after weight changes being adjusted. The difference was statistically significant, suggesting fluid overload in this patient group. In neurologic patient group, the difference between fluid intake and output considering weight changes was 124ml. The difference was not statistically significant, suggesting that the fluid intake and output was well balanced in this patient group.