Traumatic Brain Injury in the Elderly: Clinical Features, Prognostic Factors, and Outcomes of 133 Consecutive Surgical Patients

Objective With the aging of the global population, an increase in the proportion of elderly patients presenting with traumatic brain injury (TBI) is expected. This population presents several distinctive characteristics that impact management and outcome of TBI, such as comorbidities, frailty, and preinjury use of medications - specially antiplatelets and anticoagulants. The purpose of this study was to assess the general characteristics and prognostic factors of elderly patients with TBI that were surgically managed at a single institution. Methods The authors performed a retrospective review of all elderly patients (age ≥ 65 years) with a history of TBI that underwent cranial neurosurgical procedures at their institution, between 2015 and 2019. Clinical characteristics, laboratory tests, and radiological scans, as well as surgeries, performed, outcome, and prognostic factors were analyzed, comprising 133 consecutive cases overall. Results The mean age of patients was 76.6 ± 7.3 years, ranging from 65 years to 97 years. There was a predominance of males (71.4%) and the most frequent mechanism of injury was fall (80.4%). Mild TBI comprised 57.1% of the cases, followed by severe TBI in 25.6%. Frequent signs and symptoms were impaired consciousness (69.9%), focal motor deficits (32.3%), and gait disturbances (12.8%). The majority had reported comorbidities upon admission (79.7%), with cardiac disease (79.2%) and diabetes (24.5%) as the most frequent. Preinjury anticoagulation was reported in 18.8% and use of antiplatelet drugs in 17.3%. The most common finding in the head CT was chronic subdural hematoma (48.1%), followed by acute subdural hematoma (37.6%). Coagulation was found to be altered in 12.8% of the patients. The most common neurosurgical procedure performed was trephination for hematoma evacuation (56.3%), followed by craniotomy (21.2%). Blood product transfusion was needed in 61.7% of the patients. Overall mortality was 42.1%, with the majority in the first month after admission (83.9%). Unfavorable outcome (Glasgow Outcome Scale <5) at discharge was identified in 73% of the patients. Identified prognostic factors were TBI severity, absent pupillary reactivity, acute intracranial bleeding on head CT, basal cisterns obliteration, altered coagulation status, and need for blood transfusion. Conclusions TBI severity, pupillary reactivity, coagulation status, need for blood products transfusion and acute bleeding, as well as basal cisterns obliteration found in head CT, are factors that influenced the outcome in this series of elderly patients with TBI that need surgical management. It is paramount to observe the particularities of this population in this context, to optimize outcomes, avoid complications and ultimately generate awareness focused on prevention.