Post-concussion syndrome among patients experiencing head injury attending emergency department of Hawassa University Comprehensive specialized hospital, Hawassa, southern Ethiopia

INTRODUCTION: Post-concussion syndrome (PCS) is defined as the presence of 3 or more of the following signs and symptoms after experiencing head injury such as headache, dizziness, fatigue, irritability, insomnia, difficulty of concentration or memory difficulty. In Ethiopia, even though there was no research conducted on post-concussion syndrome, it is common health problems after experiencing head trauma that affect the productive age group, which directly or indirectly influences the development of the country. OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence and determinants of post-concussion syndrome among patients experiencing head injury attending emergency department of Hawassa University Comprehensive Specialized hospital, Hawassa, Southern Ethiopia. METHODS: Institution based cross sectional study was conducted from November 1, 2017 to March 30, 2018, in Hawassa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital emergency department, Hawassa, Southern Ethiopia. RESULT: A total of 275 cases were interviewed during data collection period with response rate of 95.2%. More than half (55.7%) of patients were within age range of 25–34 and Majorities (55.6%) of patients were married. About two-fifths of study participants (41.5%) had at least three symptoms of post-concussion syndrome components. Headache and restlessness were the most symptoms occurring in varying severity while double vision and fatigue were less severe among others. Occupation, cause of injury and location of injury were significant determinants of post-concussion syndrome. CONCLUSION: About 41.5% of study participants had at least three symptoms of PCS. Occupation, cause of injury and location of injury were significantly associated with the occurrence of PCS. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s10194-018-0945-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.