The influence of government-issued lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic on traumatic brain injuries in Tyrol, Austria

Introduction: In February 2020, COVID-19 infections started to spread in Austria. This was followed by governmental actions and constraints such as lockdowns, quarantine protocols, and a ban on outdoor sports. The goal of this study was to investigate the influence of these measures on the number of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in the state of Tyrol.

Methods: The incidence of TBI during lockdowns and restrictions of outdoor activities in 2020 and 2021 were compared with corresponding periods in previous years. The data was retrospectively collected and analyzed.

Results: During the first lockdown in the winter of 2020/2021, there was a notably lower incidence of moderate and severe TBIs compared to the corresponding period in 2019/2020 (p = 0.016). Similarly, there was a reduction in TBIs from sports accidents during this period (p = 0.010). However, when comparing other lockdown periods to the previous years, no differences were observed.

Conclusion: The various governmental measures restricting mobility aimed to contain the COVID-19 pandemic but showed little influence on the number of TBI cases. Only a lockdown in the accident-prone winter months has influenced the incidence of TBIs.