Head injury in polytrauma-Is there an effect on outcome more than 10 years after the injury?

Introduction: Head injuries are of great relevance for the prognosis of polytrauma patients during acute care. However, knowledge about the impact on the long-term outcome is sparse. Therefore, this study analysed the role of head injuries on the outcome of polytrauma patients more than 10 years after injury in a matched-pair analysis. Patients and methods: Out of 620 polytrauma patients with and without head injury, a matched-pair analysis with comparable age, injury severity and gender distribution and a minimum of 10 years follow-up was performed. The outcome and quality-of-life were measured using the Hannover Score for Polytrauma Outcome (HASPOC), Short Form 12 (SF-12), Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) and other parameters. Results: The matched-pair analysis consisted of 125 pairs (age 27.9±1.2 years, ISS 20.0±0.8 [head injury] vs ISS 19.8±0.8 [no head injury]). A significant difference was shown for the GOS Score only (GOS head injury 4.3±0.3vs no head injury 4.9±0.2, p=0.01). The psychological outcome was similar in both groups. Both groups reported comparable subjective rehabilitation satisfaction. Conclusions: Matching pairs of equally injured polytrauma patients of same gender with and without head injury 10 years following trauma indicated significantly worse results in the GOS due to head injury.