Outcome of 1939 traumatic brain injury patients from road traffic accidents: Findings from specialist medical reports in a low to middle income country (LMIC)

OBJECTIVE: Road traffic accident (RTA) is the major cause of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in developing countries and affects mostly young adult population. This research aimed to describe the factors predicting functional outcome after TBI caused by RTA in a Malaysian setting.

METHODS: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study conducted on specialist medical reports written from 2009 to 2019, involving patients who survived after TBI from RTA. The functional outcome was assessed using the Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended (GOSE). Factors associated with good outcome were analysed via logistic regression analysis. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to derive the best fitting Prediction Model and split-sample cross-validation was performed to develop a prediction model.

RESULTS: A total of 1939 reports were evaluated. The mean age of the study participants was 32.4 ± 13.7 years. Most patients were male, less than 40, and with average post RTA of two years. Good outcome (GOSE score 7 & 8) was reported in 30.3% of the patients. Factors significantly affecting functional outcome include age, gender, ethnicity, marital status, education level, severity of brain injury, neurosurgical intervention, ICU admission, presence of inpatient complications, cognitive impairment, post-traumatic headache, post traumatic seizures, presence of significant behavioural issue; and residence post discharge (p<0.05). After adjusting for confounding factors, prediction model identified age less than 40, mild TBI, absence of post traumatic seizure, absence of behaviour issue, absence of cognitive impairment and independent living post TBI as significant predictors of good functional outcome post trauma. Discrimination of the model was acceptable (C-statistic, 0.67; p<0.001, 95% CI: 0.62-0.73).

CONCLUSION: Good functional outcome following TBI due to RTA in this study population is comparable to other low to middle income countries but lower than high income countries. Factors influencing outcome such as seizure, cognitive and behavioural issues, and independent living post injury should be addressed early to achieve favourable long-term outcomes.