ABSTRACT
Background: Head injury is one of the most important causes of death caused by trauma. Decompressive craniectomy is said to be the best way to reduce otherwise intractable intracranial pressure and its complications in traumatic brain injury. But we have not enough information regarding the outcomes and effectiveness of decompressive craniectomy in traumatic brain injury. The aim of this study was to assess the outcomes and effectiveness of decompressive craniectomyin in traumatic brain injury.Material & Methods:This prospective observational study was conducted in Khwaja Yunus Ali Medical College and Hospital, Sirajganj and TMSS Medical College & Hospital, Bogura, Bangladesh in collaboration with the Department of Neurosurgery during the period from July 2018 to December 2021. In total 32 patients with severe traumatic brain injury diagnosed and treated in the above-mentioned hospitals were recruited as the samples for this study. The outcomes of the patients evaluated by the Glasgow Coma Scale (on which scores range from 3 to 15, with lower scores indicating reduced levels of consciousness). All patient data were collected, processed, analyzed as well as disseminated by using MS Office 2019 and SPSS version 23 programs as per the necessity.Results:In analyzing the duration of hospitalization we observed, the mean (±SD) days of mechanical ventilation, days of ICU staying and days of hospitalization were 8.88 ± 2.54, 10.21 ± 3.16 and 15.57 ± 4.51 days respectively. Finally, the mean (±SD) Extended Glasgow Outcome Scale score of all the patients was found as 9.1. On the other hand, the unfavorable Extended Glasgow Outcome Scale score (1 to 4) was found in 56% patients. In this study, finally death cases were found 22%.Conclusion:Decompressive craniectomy ensures better outcome in term of survival but the limitation is quality of life issues after survival especially among poor GCS (3-6) group. Prompt hospitalization, early diagnosis and proper ICU and ventilation facilities can ensure more satisfactory outcomes for the patients with traumatic brain injury.