Prevalence and Outcomes of Geriatric Traumatic Brain Injury in Developing Countries: A Retrospective Study

Abstract

Abstract Introduction  The world populace is aging and it is anticipated that 2 billion people will be older than 60 years by 2050. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of death and disability worldwide. In the United States, 2.8 million people pursue medical attention yearly. TBI exemplifies a leading cause of mortality and morbidity among the geriatric age group worldwide. Methods  A retrospective study of geriatric cases who were admitted to the Neurosurgery Department in Khoula Hospital from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2019, was conducted. Patients' demographics, risk factors, neuro-vital sign, diagnosis, Glasgow coma scale (GCS) on arrival, treatment types, and length of stay (LOS) were recorded. Results  Two hundred and thirty-four patients were admitted due to TBI in four years period. Seventy-five percent of the study cohort were more than 75 years old. Male to female ratio was 2.4:1. Subdural hematoma (SDH) was the most common TBI diagnosis based on computed tomography (77.4%). Most of the patients were having GCS scores of 14 to 15 (67.9%). Sixteen percent of the patients received antiepileptic medications. The majority of the patients underwent surgical intervention (70.5%). Eighty percent of the patients stayed in the hospital for less than 15 days. There was a significant difference between the LOS and type of surgery. Subarachnoid hemorrhage was found to have the highest mean age (79.7 years). Intracerebral hemorrhage patients had the longest LOS in the hospital with a mean of 44.2 days. There was no significant difference between the age of patients and type of surgery. Conclusion  The number of TBI in the elderly population is increasing annually. The most common type of TBI in our cohort was SDH and most of the patients were treated with burr hole surgery.