2018 AANS Annual Scientific Meeting-Favorable Functional Recovery from Severe Traumatic Brain Injury Beyond Six Months

Favorable Functional Recovery from Severe Traumatic Brain Injury Beyond Six Months

Video Transcription

Video Summary

In this video, Tiffany Wilkins discusses the duration of follow-up after traumatic brain injury (TBI) and its impact on functional recovery. Wilkins presents research findings that challenge the widespread pessimism among neurosurgical providers regarding severe TBI outcomes. One study highlighted that neurosurgeons often overestimate negative outcomes and underestimate favorable outcomes. Wilkins then goes on to describe a study conducted at the University of Pittsburgh, which analyzed the evolution of outcomes over a period of three months to two years for severe TBI patients. The results showed that patients demonstrated significant improvement in functional outcomes from three to 24 months, independent of their initial Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score. This improvement was observed in both favorable and unfavorable outcome categories. The study concludes that favorable outcomes after severe TBI are more common than typically perceived, and this knowledge should be considered in prognostication, decision-making, and management. Wilkins acknowledges limitations of the study, such as the absence of data beyond two years and the lack of analysis on the correlation between injury type and outcome.

Asset Caption

Tiffany Wilkins

Keywords

traumatic brain injury

functional recovery

neurosurgical providers

severe TBI outcomes

favorable outcomes