Abstract:
Introduction: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has become a major public health issue, affecting
about 69 million people every year globally. Despite evidence showing the incidence of TBI is
high in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), including Ethiopia, studies assessing the
clinical profile and outcomes of TBI are limited.
Objective: The study aimed to assess the clinical profile and outcomes of TBI in patients
admitted to the surgical ward of Jimma Medical Center (JMC) from January to July 2022.
Methods: A hospital-based prospective observational study was conducted involving patients
admitted with TBI at the surgical ward of JMC from January to July 2022. Structured
questionnaires were used to collect data, and a convenient sampling technique was used. For data
entry, Epidata version 4.6.0.5 software was used and exported to Stata version 14.0.2 for data
analysis. Bivariate Cox regression was conducted to see if there were associations between the
dependent and independent variables. A multivariate Cox regression was conducted to evaluate
the predictors of mortality. Variables having p-values of < 0.05 were considered statistically
significant.
Results: A total of 175 patients were recruited for the study. Of these, 126 (72 %) were males,
with a mean (±standard deviation) age of 29.82±10.8 years. Hypoxia (30.86%) and anemia (15.8
%) were the common clinical profiles observed on admission. The incidence of in-hospital
complications and in-hospital mortality were 32.0 % and 22 (12.6 %), respectively. The mean
length of hospital stay was 5.66±0.34 days. A GCS score of < 8 on admission [Adjusted hazard
ratio (AHR) =6.2, 95% CI, 0.75-51, p=0.004)], hyperthermia (AHR: 1.7, 95% CI, 1.02-3.05,
p=0.043), and lack of pre-hospital care (AHR: 3.2, 95% CI, 2.2-8.07, p=0.005) were predictors
of mortality in TBI patients.
Conclusion and recommendation: Over one-tenth of TBI patients died and more than one-
fourth of patients had in-hospital complications during hospitalization. The GCS score of < 8 on
admission, hyperthermia, and lack of pre-hospital care were the factors affecting outcome of TBI
patients. Screening of patients for antipsychotics should be strengthened
