Prognostic Value of Initial Diagnostic Imaging Findings for Patient Outcomes in Adult Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Termed the "silent epidemic," traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the greatest global contributors not only to post-traumatic death but also to post-traumatic long-term disability. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to specifically evaluate the prognostic value of features on initial imaging completed within 24 h of arrival in adult patients with TBI. METHOD: The authors followed the PRISMA 2020 checklist for systematic review and meta-analysis design and reporting. Comprehensive searches of the Medline and Embase databases were carried out. Two independent readers extracted the following demographic, clinical and imaging information using a predetermined data abstraction form. Statistics were performed using Revman 5.4.1 and R version 4.2.0. For pooled data in meta-analysis, forest plots for sensitivity and specificity were created to calculate the diagnostic odds ratio (DOR). Summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curves were generated using a bivariate model, and diagnostic accuracy was determined using pooled sensitivity and specificity as well as the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC). RESULTS: There were 10,733 patients over the 19 studies. Overall, most of the studies included had high levels of bias in multiple, particularly when it came to selection bias in patient sampling, bias in controlling for confounders, and reporting bias, such as in reporting missing data. Only subdural hematoma (SDH) and mortality in all TBI patients had both an AUC with 95% CI not crossing 0.5 and a DOR with 95% CI not crossing 1, at 0.593 (95% CI: 0.556-0.725) and 2.755 (95% CI: 1.474-5.148), respectively. CONCLUSION: In meta-analysis, only SDH with mortality in all TBI patients had a moderate but significant association. Given the small number of studies, additional research focused on initial imaging, particularly for imaging modalities other than NECT, is required in order to confirm the findings of our meta-analysis and to further evaluate the association of imaging findings and outcome.

Initial CT Imaging Predicts Mortality in Severe Traumatic Brain Injuries in Pediatric Population-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

The purpose of this systematic review was to analyze evidence based on existing studies on the ability of initial CT imaging to predict mortality in severe traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) in pediatric patients. An experienced librarian searched for all existing studies based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The studies were screened by two blinded reviewers. Of the 3277 studies included in the search, data on prevalence of imaging findings and mortality rate could only be extracted from 22 studies. A few of those studies had patient-specific data relating specific imaging findings to outcome, allowing the data analysis, calculation of the area under the curve (AUC) and receiver operating characteristic (ROC), and generation of a forest plot for each finding. The data were extracted to calculate the sensitivity (SN), specificity (SP), positive predictive value (PPV), negative predicted value (NPV), AUC, and ROC for extradural hematoma (EDH), subdural hematoma (SDH), traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (tSAH), skull fractures, and edema. There were a total of 2219 patients, 747 females and 1461 males. Of the total, 564 patients died and 1651 survived; 293 patients had SDH, 76 had EDH, 347 had tSAH, 244 had skull fractures, and 416 had edema. The studies included had high bias and lower grade of evidence. Out of the different CT scan findings, brain edema had the highest SN, PPV, NPV, and AUC. EDH had the highest SP to predict in-hospital mortality.

Early diagnosis of mortality using admission CT perfusion in severe traumatic brain injury patients (ACT-TBI): protocol for a prospective cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: Severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a catastrophic neurological condition with significant economic burden. Early in-hospital mortality (<48 hours) with severe TBI is estimated at 50%. Several clinical examinations exist to determine brain death; however, most are difficult to elicit in the acute setting in patients with severe TBI. Having a definitive assessment tool would help predict early in-hospital mortality in this population. CT perfusion (CTP) has shown promise diagnosing early in-hospital mortality in patients with severe TBI and other populations. The purpose of this study is to validate admission CTP features of brain death relative to the clinical examination outcome for characterizing early in-hospital mortality in patients with severe TBI. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The Early Diagnosis of Mortality using Admission CT Perfusion in Severe Traumatic Brain Injury Patients study, is a prospective cohort study in patients with severe TBI funded by a grant from the Canadian Institute of Health Research. Adults aged 18 or older, with evidence of a severe TBI (Glasgow Coma Scale score ≤8 before initial resuscitation) and, on mechanical ventilation at the time of imaging are eligible. Patients will undergo CTP at the time of first imaging on their hospital admission. Admission CTP compares with the reference standard of an accepted bedside clinical assessment for brainstem function. Deferred consent will be used. The primary outcome is a binary outcome of mortality (dead) or survival (not dead) in the first 48 hours of admission. The planned sample size for achieving a sensitivity of 75% and a specificity of 95% with a CI of ±5% is 200 patients. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study has been approved by the University of Manitoba Health Research Ethics Board. The findings from our study will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals and presentations at local rounds, national and international conferences. The public will be informed through forums at the end of the study. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04318665.