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Glasgow Coma Scale scores better in older patients with traumatic brain injury
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Compared with younger patients with similar traumatic brain injury severity, elderly patients with traumatic brain injuries were shown to have better Glasgow Coma Scale scores, according to researchers.
Kristin Salottolo, MPH, and colleagues identified and compared patients 65 years and older and those between the ages of 18 and 64 years to assess the effects of age on the association between Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and anatomic traumatic brain injury (TBI) severity. A total of 6,710 patients with traumatic brain injuries were included in the comparison.
The researchers found significant differences in GCS category by age at each Abbreviated Injury Scale score. Specifically, 56.33% of elderly patients with an AIS score of 5 had a mild neurologic deficit — a GCS score between 13 and 15 — whereas 63.2 % of younger patients had a severe neurologic deficit, with a GCS score between 3 and 8.
After adjusting for Injury Severity Score, sex, mechanism of injury, transfers and abnormal vital signs in the emergency department, the researchers found that patients younger than 65 years had increased odds of presenting with severe neurologic deficit at each level of anatomic severity compared with patients older than 65 years.
Disclosures: The authors reported no relevant financial disclosures.
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