Traumatic Brain Injury in Older Adults Presenting to the Emergency Department: Epidemiology, Outcomes and Risk Factors Predicting the Prognosis

INTRODUCTION: The continuing-to-grow number of older adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI) presenting to emergency departments (EDs) and hospitals necessitates the investigation of TBI in these patients. OBJECTIVE: The present study was conducted to investigate the epidemiology of TBI and the factors affecting intracranial lesions and patient outcomes in older adults. METHOD: The present retrospective cross-sectional study was performed between March 2016 and March 2018. The study population comprised all TBI patients with a minimum age of 60 years presenting to the ED. The eligible candidates consisted of patients presenting to the ED within 24 hours of the occurrence of traumas and requiring head CT scan as part of their examination. The patients’ baseline information was also recorded. RESULTS: A total of 306 older adult patients with a mean age of 70.61±8.63 years, of whom 67.6% were male, underwent CT scan for TBI during the study period. Falls were the major cause of head injuries, and intracranial lesions were observed in 22.9% (n=70) of the patients. Subdural hematoma (SDH) was observed as the most prevalent injury in 27.6% of the patients, 22.9% (n=16) were transferred to the operating room, and 7.5% (n=23) died. Moreover, the severity of trauma was significantly different between the two genders (P=0.029). Midline shift, SDH, subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and moderate-to-severe head injuries were also significantly associated with poor outcomes (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Death from TBIs was more likely in the patients with SDH, SAH and midline shift or in those with an initial Glasgow coma scale (GCS) of below 13. These predictions are clinically relevant, and can help improve the management of older adults with TBI.