Intensive care unit variables and outcome after pediatric traumatic brain injury: A retrospective study of survivors

OBJECTIVE: Traumatic brain injury is a leading cause of death and disability in children. Hypotension has been associated with poor survival and outcome in children after traumatic brain injury, but the effect of acute hypertension is less certain. The objective was to obtain acute physiologic variables during the early hospitalization period in a cohort of children prospectively enrolled in another study. DESIGN: Retrospective chart reviews. SETTING: University-affiliated pediatric rehabilitation center. PATIENTS: Fifty-seven survivors, 5-17 yrs of age, admitted for rehabilitation between 1992 and 1995 after sustaining a traumatic brain injury. INTERVENTIONS: Standard of care. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Outcomes were assessed at 1 yr postinjury through cognitive testing of the child and parent interview of the child's global functional skills. Cognitive outcome was measured using the Performance IQ from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Third Edition. Overall functional outcome was assessed using the Disability Rating Scale. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that early markers of secondary injury after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury in children may be predictive of long-term outcome. This study reinforces the need for longer term, systematic, and more precise measurements of outcomes in children with traumatic brain injury and prospective studies to examine the predictive value of acute management variables on multiple types of outcomes after traumatic brain injury in children.