Estimation of the Life Expectancy for The disabled Persons after Head Injury

Lee, Kyeong Seok

Abstract

Most people presume that the life expectancy of disbled persons after head injury may be shorter than that of the general population. Except for a few specific situations, such as the persistent vegetative state or in patients with a traumatic epilepsy, there are no firm medical evidences to support such a presumption. Furthermore, there are no available guidelines or data for proper estimation of the length of survival for such patients. Estimation based on the limited data or personal experience may cause considerable discrepancies among doctors. The author had reviewed literatures on the life expectancy of disabled or head injured persons, and proposed a scheme or estimation of the life expectancy of disabled persons after head injury. Age and sex of the disabled person, and everity of the disability were used as factors determining the lifespan. This proposal can be a useful reference to estimate the life expectancy of disabled persons after head injury, which will reduce the discrepancy derived from doctors' personal experiences.