%0 Journal Article
%T Favorable functional recovery in severe traumatic brain injury survivors beyond six months
%J Journal of neurotrauma
%D 2019
%A Wilkins, Tiffany
%A Beers, Sue R.
%A Hricik, Allison J.
%A Brooks, Jordan
%A Mesley, Matthew
%A Puffer, Ross
%A Chang, Yuefang
%A Okonkwo, David O.
%A Puccio, Ava M.
%V ePub
%N ePub
%P ePub-ePub
%X Favorable long-term functional outcomes after severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) may be under-estimated. We analyzed 24-month functional outcomes from a consecutive series of severe TBI survivors. A prospective, observational database of severe TBI survivors from a single institution was analyzed. Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended (GOS-E) scores were obtained at 3-, 6-, 12-, and 24-months post-injury. GOS-E scores were dichotomized into unfavorable and favorable outcomes, and the proportion of survivors changing from unfavorable to favorable outcomes was calculated using Wilcoxon signed rank tests. Surviving adults (N=304; mean age ± SD = 35.06 ± 15.11; 80.92% male; mode of initial GCS = 7) were analyzed. A statistically significant mean increase in GOS-E was noted from 3 to 6 months, 6 to 12 months, 12 to 24 months, and 6 to 24 months after injury (0.65 (p-value<.0001), 0.42 (p-value<.0001), 0.23 (p-value=0.020), and 0.61 (p-value<.0001); respectively). Moreover, 43% of survivors from 3 to 6 months, 36% from 6 to 12 months, 38% from 12 to 24 months, and 54% from 6 to 24 months progressed from an unfavorable to a favorable outcome. Two-thirds of survivors in the unfavorable category at 3 months had favorable outcomes at two years. Overall 74% of surviving adults with a documented GOS-E at 2 years following injury had a favorable outcome. Severe TBI survivors demonstrated significant improvement in functional outcomes from 3 to 24 months following injury. At 2 years, three-fourths of survivors had a favorable outcome. Long-term prognosis in severe TBI is better than broadly appreciated.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
%G en
%I Mary Ann Liebert Publishers
%@ 0897-7151
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/neu.2018.6153