Studying patients of severe traumatic brain injury with severe abdominal injury in Japan

BACKGROUND: Characteristics of extracranial injury in patients with diffuse axonal injury (DAI) have not been clarified. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study reviewed medical records from January 2003 to December 2007. Subjects comprised 35 patients meeting the following criteria: 1) head injury without mass lesion; 2) Glasgow coma scale (GCS) on arrival <15; and 3) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination including T2*-weighted imaging. Subjects were divided into two groups: severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) group (patients with GCS ≤8, n=19) and moderate TBI group (patients with GCS >8, n=16). RESULTS: Shock index (heart rate/systolic blood pressure) was significantly higher in the severe TBI group than in the moderate TBI group, while base excess on arrival was significantly lower in the severe TBI group than in the moderate TBI group. The abbreviated injury scale (AIS) for the face, thorax, extremities and external structures showed no significant differences between the severe TBI group, but AIS for the abdomen and the sum of extracranial AIS was greater in the severe TBI group than in the moderate TBI group. Duration of hospitalization was longer and outcomes were worse in the severe TBI group than in the moderate TBI group. CONCLUSION: Because patients with severe TBI are more likely to have abdominal injury than patients with moderate TBI, physicians should be aware of the potential for such complications when treating severe TBI.