Clinical characteristics and outcomes of traumatic brain Injury in patients admitted to surgical ward of jimma Medical center, southwest ethiopia

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