ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To describe the factors associated to mortality of patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). DESIGN: A retrospective observational study was made of patients with severe TBI covering the period between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2010. SETTING: Virgen de la Vega Hospital, Salamanca (Spain). PATIENTS: All patients hospitalized during the consecutive study period. MAIN VARIABLES OF INTEREST: The dependent variable has been the death rate, while the independent variables were divided into two groups: epidemiological and clinical. RESULTS: The mean patient age was the 50.84 years; 75.5% were males. The average score on the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) was 5.09, and the average Injury Severity Score (ISS) was 30.8. Higher mortality was observed in older patients with a higher ISS score. A total of 68.1% of the patients in which intracranial pressure (ICP) was monitored showed intracranial hypertension (ICH). The mortality rate in patients with severe TBI was 36.8%, and was associated mainly to a lower GCS score, the existence of hyperglycemia, coagulopathy, hypoxemia, the presence of mydriasis and shock. The independent mortality indicators in patients with severe TBI were the existence of mydriasis (OR: 32.75), the GCS score (OR: 2.65) and hyperglycemia (OR: 6.08). CONCLUSIONS: The existence of mydriasis, the GCS score and hyperglycemia should be taken into account as prognostic factors in TBI patients.
