Predictive power of the eTBI score for 30 day outcome in elderly patients with traumatic brain Injury

• Published in: Scientific reports 2024-10, Vol.14 (1), p.25862-10, Article 25862
• Main Authors: Shafiei, Mehdi, Maleki, Shiva, Nasr Isfahani, Mehdi, Amin, Alireza
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 692/308; 692/308/409; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Brain Injuries, Traumatic - diagnosis; Brain Injuries, Traumatic - mortality; Brain Injuries, Traumatic - therapy; Elderly traumatic brain injury score; Female; Glasgow Coma Scale; Glasgow Outcome Scale; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Morbidity; Mortality; multidisciplinary; Patients; Population studies; Prediction poor outcome; Prognosis; Retrospective Studies; Risk groups; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Score validation; Traumatic brain injury
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-77561-w

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common problem in elderly individuals, with significant morbidity and mortality. The elderly Traumatic Brain Injury (eTBI) score, a novel tool for predicting outcomes in elderly patients with TBI, has shown promising results in previous studies. This study aimed to validate the eTBI score in a larger cohort of elderly patients with TBI in the Middle East. We conducted a retrospective study on 337 TBI patients with a mean age of 73.04 ± 8.73, admitted to a tertiary care hospital between March 2021 and November 2022. Within 30 days of admission, the patients’ conditions, including mortality and entering a vegetative state, were evaluated. The study population was split into three groups based on eTBI score: low, medium, and high risk; then patients were divided into two subgroups based on their Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS ≤ 2, GOS > 2) in 30 days from hospital admission. Poor outcomes (mortality and entering a vegetative state) occurred in 24.3% of the study population. Within 30 days of hospital admission, 88% of low-risk patients experienced some degree of improvement, while 100% of high-risk patients died or fell into a vegetative state. In the medium-risk group, there was a significant correlation between unresponsive pupil ( P  = 0.006), initial GCS score ( P  = 0.003), need for a ventilator device ( P  = 0.015), need for surgical treatment ( P  = 0.031) and poor outcomes. Despite having a low sensitivity (21% vs. 57%), the eTBI score performed well in terms of accuracy (81% vs. 88%), specificity (100 vs. 98%), positive predictive value (100% vs. 90%), and negative predictive value (80% vs. 88%) for both eTBI ≤ 0 and eTBI ≤ 3 thresholds. The eTBI score is a reliable tool for predicting outcomes in elderly patients with TBI. This scoring system has a positive predictive value of 100% in the eTBI ≤ 0 group, which shows that 100% of the patients who are predicted by the eTBI score to have a poor outcome will indeed have a poor outcome. Patients in the high-risk group should be closely monitored and provided with intensive care, while those in the low-risk group can be reassured about their prognosis. The eTBI score can also be used in conjunction with other clinical factors to inform treatment decisions for patients in the medium-risk group.