Treatment of Geriatric Traumatic Brain Injury: A Nationwide Cohort Study

• Published in: Journal of Nippon Medical School Vol. 88; no. 3; pp. 194 - 203
• Main Authors: Yokobori, Shoji, Saito, Ken, Sasaki, Kazuma, Kanaya, Takahiro, Fujiki, Yu, Yamaguchi, Masahiro, Satoh, Shin, Watanabe, Akihiro, Igarashi, Yutaka, Suzuki, Go, Kaneko, Junya, Nakae, Ryuta, Onda, Hidetaka, Ishinokami, Saori, Takayama, Yasuhiro, Naoe, Yasutaka, Sato, Hidetaka, Unemoto, Kyoko, Fuse, Akira, Yokota, Hiroyuki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan The Medical Association of Nippon Medical School 25-06-2021
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Brain Injuries, Traumatic - diagnosis; Brain Injuries, Traumatic - epidemiology; Brain Injuries, Traumatic - therapy; Cohort Studies; Female; Geriatric Assessment; Glasgow Outcome Scale; Humans; intracranial pressure; intraventricular hemorrhage; Male; Prognosis; Retrospective Studies; traumatic brain injury; Treatment Outcome; traumatic brain injury; Glasgow Outcome Scale; intracranial pressure; intraventricular hemorrhage
• ISSN: 1345-4676; 1347-3409
• DOI: 10.1272/jnms.JNMS.2021_88-404

Background: Because of the aging of the Japanese population, traumatic brain injuries (TBI) have increased in elderly adults. However, the effectiveness and prognosis of intensive treatment for geriatric TBI have not yet been determined. Thus, we used nationwide data from the Japan Neurotrauma Data Bank (JNTDB) projects to analyze prognostic factors for intensive and aggressive treatments. Methods: We analyzed 1,879 geriatric TBI cases (age ≥65 years) registered in four JNTDB projects: Project 1998 (P1998) to Project 2015 (P2015). Clinical features, use of aggressive treatment, and 6-month outcomes on the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) were compared among study projects. Logistic regression was used to identify prognostic factors in aggressively treated patients. Results: The percentage of geriatric TBI cases significantly increased with time-P1998: 30.1%; Project 2004 (P2004): 34.6%; Project 2009 (P2009): 43.9%; P2015: 53.6%, p<0.0001). Use of aggressive treatment also significantly increased, from 67.0% in P1998 to 69.3% in P2015 (p<0.0001). Less invasive methods, such as trepanation and normothermic targeted temperature management, were more often chosen for geriatric patients. These efforts resulted in a significant decrease in the 6-month mortality rate, from 76.2% in P1998 to 63.1% in P2015 (p=0.0003), although the percentage of severely disabled patients increased, from 8.9% in P1998 to 11.1% in P2015 (p=0.0003). Intraventricular hemorrhage was the factor most strongly associated with unfavorable 6-month outcomes (OR 3.79, 95% CI 1.78-8.06, p<0.0001). Conclusions: Less invasive treatments reduced mortality in geriatric TBI but did not improve functional outcomes. Patient age was not the strongest prognostic factor; thus, physicians should consider characteristics other than age.