Prognostic Factors in Head Trauma Patients

Choi, Sung Hyuk; Moon, Jun Dong; Kim, Su Jin; Moon, Cheul Kyu; Lee, Sung Woo; Hong, Yun Sik

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Predicting outcome after head trauma is of great interest for clinicians, especially in the early stage. It may provide a basis for therapeutic strategies and may be helpful to select different approaches. But, reliable outcome prediction from head trauma is still unresolved. The purpose of this study is to determine which clinical parameters can be used effectively after an event of head trauma.
METHODS
In our study we studied head trauma patients who came to the Emergency department of Korea University Medical School Anam Hospital from the 1st of June 1998 to 31th of January 2000, looked into medical records, and studied the records in a retrospective manner. The head trauma patients were divied into two group, a) favourable outcome-related and b) unfavourable outcome-related. The two groups were then subdivided according to their sex, age, the mechanism of their injury, the time they came in, alcohol drinking, loss of consciousness, vomiting, pupil change, previous medical illness, associated injuries and were seperately compared and analyzed. And the factors affecting Glasgow Outcome Scale(GOS) were analyzed in the parameters of Injury Severity Score(ISS), Revised Trauma Score(RTS), Glasgow Coma Scale(GCS), motor score of GCS(mGCS), Marshall Computed Tomographic Classification(MCTC). Statistically, t-test and Mann-Whistney rank sum test using Jandelsigma were used in the study and then were assessed in Chi-square analysis methods. The statistical significance was determined at a level of p less than 0.05.
RESULTS
The total of the head trauma patients, added up to 129 people, 99:males and 30:females. Among this sum, 99 patients showed a favourable outcome and 30 patients showed an unfavourable outcome at discharge. The causes of injury included: automobile accident in 42 cases; falls in 26; assaults in 6; and accidental-slipping injury etc in 55 cases. 12 patients had bilateral unreactive pupils on admission, 2 had unilateral reactive pupils, and 113 had bilateral reactive pupils. Compared to the favourable outcome-related head trauma group, the unfavourable outcome-relared head trauma group had more history of loss of consciousness, unreactive pupils and tended to have previous medical illness. There were no difference in alcohol related, vomiting and associated injuries between two groups(favourable outcome-related head trauma group: unfavourable outcome-related head trauma group). Substantial difference were observed in GCS, mGCS, ISS, RTS, MCTC between two groups. Patients with unfavourable outcome had a significantly higher ISS, lower RTS, lower mGCS. After MCTC, patients with mass lesion had unfavourable outcome than patients with diffuse injury.
CONCLUSION
Age, history of loss of consciousness, previous medical illness and unreactive pupil change are predictives of outcomes of head trauma patients with respect to Glasgow outcome scale. The lower GCS, lower RTS, lower mGCS, higher ISS, mass lesion based on CT scan provide poorer prognostic outcome in patients with head trauma. Use of prognostic factors thorough complete history taking and physical examination would provide useful prognostic information and facilitate improved therapeutic decision-making in head-injuried patients.