Impact of concomitant injuries on clinical outcomes in patients with isolated versus non-isolated traumatic brain injury

¹Department of Emergency Medicine, Jeju National University Hospital, Jeju, Korea
²Department of Emergency Medicine, Jeju National University School of Medicine, Jeju, Korea

Correspondence Sung Wook Song Tel: 82-64-717-1924, Email: sungwook78@gmail.com

Received: October 9, 2024. Revised: December 10, 2024. Accepted: December 18, 2024. Published online: January 15, 2025.

ABSTRACT

Objective
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) often occurs alongside injuries to other body regions, worsening patient outcomes. This study evaluates the impact of concomitant injuries on clinical outcomes in patients with isolated versus non-isolated TBI.
Methods
This retrospective cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data from the Emergency Department-based Injury In-depth Surveillance (EDIIS) for 180,058 TBI patients admitted to 23 tertiary hospitals from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2022. Patients were categorized into isolated TBI group (iTBI; n=127,673) and non-isolated TBI group (niTBI; n=52,385) based on injury diagnostic codes. Clinical outcomes—24-hour and 30-day mortality, hospital admission, and interhospital transfer—were compared. Multivariate logistic regression analyses adjusted for potential confounders were performed.
Result
s: The niTBI patients exhibited significantly higher 24-hour mortality (1.5% vs. 0.4%), 30-day mortality (2.6% vs. 1.0%), hospital admissions (24.5% vs. 8.4%), and interhospital transfers (3.6% vs. 1.1%) than iTBI patients (all P<0.001). Concomitant injuries increased the adjusted odds of 24-hour mortality (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.456; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.286–1.648) and 30-day mortality (aOR, 1.111; 95% CI, 1.022–1.208). Thoracic injuries were the most significant predictor of adverse outcomes in niTBI patients, increasing the odds of 24-hour mortality by nearly sixfold (aOR, 5.958; 95% CI 5.057–7.019).
Conclusions
Concomitant injuries significantly worsen clinical outcomes in TBI patients, with thoracic injuries being the most critical predictor of mortality. These findings highlight the importance of comprehensive trauma assessments and targeted prevention strategies to improve survival rates and optimize resource allocation for patients with multiple injuries.

Keywords: Traumatic brain injuries; Multiple trauma; Mortality; Outcome assessment; Comparative study