Long Term Outcome in Survivors of Decompressive Craniectomy following Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

Glasgow Coma Scale Motor Score Predicts Need for Tracheostomy After Decompressive Craniectomy for Traumatic Brain Injury

Objective

Many patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) require a tracheostomy after decompressive craniectomy. Determining which patients will require tracheostomy is often challenging. The existing methods for predicting which patients will require tracheostomy are more applicable to stroke and spontaneous intracranial hemorrhage. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) motor score can be used as a screening method for predicting which patients who undergo decompressive craniectomy for severe TBI are likely to require tracheostomy.

Methods

The neurosurgery census at the University of Kansas Medical Center was retrospectively reviewed to identify adult patients aged over 18 years who underwent decompressive craniectomy for TBI. Eighty patients met the inclusion criteria for the study. There were no exclusion criteria. The primary outcome of interest was the need for tracheostomy. The secondary outcome was the comparison of the total length of stay (LOS) and intensive care unit LOS between the early and late tracheostomy patient groups.

Results

All patients (100%) with a GCS motor score of 4 or less on post operative (POD) 5 required tracheostomy. Setting the threshold at GCS motor score of 5 on POD 5 for recommending tracheostomy resulted in 86.7% sensitivity, 91.7% specificity, and 90.5% positive predictive value, with an area under the receiver operator curve of 0.9101.

Conclusion

GCS motor score of 5 or less on POD 5 of decompressive craniectomy is a useful screening threshold for selecting patients who may benefit from tracheostomy, or may be potential candidates for extubation.

Long-Term Results of Neurological Outcome, Quality of Life, and Cosmetic Outcome After Cranioplastic Surgery: A Single Center Study of 202 Patients

Objective: An increased interest in the surgical procedures of decompressive craniectomy (DC) and subsequent cranioplasty (CP) has emerged during the last decades with specific focus on mortality and complication rates. The aim of the present study was to evaluate long-term neurological and cosmetic outcomes as well as Quality of Life (QoL) after CP surgery. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of CP patients treated at our institution between 2004 and 2014 and performed a follow-up examination, with evaluation of neurological outcome using the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) and the Glasgow outcome scale (GOS), QoL (SF-36 and EQ-5D-3L). Furthermore, the cosmetic results after CP were analyzed. Results: A total of 202 CP-patients were included in the present study. The main indications for DC and subsequent CP were space-occupying cerebral ischemia (32%), traumatic brain injury (TBI, 26%), intracerebral or subarachnoid hemorrhage (32%) and infection (10%). During a mean follow-up period of 91.9 months 46/42.6% of patients had a favorable neurological outcome (mRS ≤ 3/GOS ≥ 4). Patients with ischemia had a significant worse outcome (mRS 4.3 ± 1.5) compared with patients after TBI (3.1 ± 2.3) and infectious diseases requiring CP (2.4 ± 2.3). The QoL analysis showed that <1/3rd of patients (31.2%) had a good QoL (SF-36) with a mean EQ-5D-VAS of 59 ± 26. Statistical analysis confirmed a significant worse QoL of ischemia patients compared to other groups whereas multivariate regression analysis showed no other factors which may had an impact on the QoL. The majority (86.5%) of patients were satisfied with the cosmetic result after CP and regression analysis showed no significant factors associated with unfavorable outcomes. Conclusion: Long-term outcome and QoL after CP were significantly influenced by the medical condition requiring DC. Early detection and evaluation of QoL after CP may improve the patient's outcome due to an immediate initiation of targeted therapies (e.g., occupational- or physiotherapy).

Long-Term Outcome After Decompressive Craniectomy in a Developing Country

BACKGROUND

Decompressive craniectomy (DC) may reduce mortality but might increase the number of survivors in a vegetative state. In this study, we assessed the long-term functional outcome of patients undergoing DC in a middle-income country.

METHODS

This was a prospective observational study of patients undergoing DC at a single tertiary hospital in southern Brazil between January 2015 and December 2018.

RESULTS

Of the 125 patients who were included in this study, 57.6% (72/125) had a traumatic brain injury (TBI), 21.6% (27/125) had a stroke, 19.2% (24/125) had a cerebral hemorrhage (intracerebral or subarachnoid hemorrhage), and 0.8% (1/125) had a cerebral abscess. The mean age was 45.18 ± 19.6 years, and 71% of the patients were men. The mean initial Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score was 7.8 ± 3.6. The in-hospital mortality rate was 44.8% (56/125). Of the survivors, 50.7% (35/69) had a favorable outcome 6 months after DC. After multivariate analysis, a lower initial GCS score (7.5 ± 3.6 versus 8.8 ± 3.5, P = 0.007) and older age (49.7 ± 18.9 versus 33.3 ± 16.2 years, P = 0.0001) were associated with an unfavorable outcome.

CONCLUSION

Six months after DC, almost half of the patients who survive have a favorable outcome.