In a recent study, American researchers looked at functional recovery, symptom burden, and quality of life (QoL) after traumatic brain injury over a five-year period (TBI).
Patients with TBI typically recover most quickly in the first three to six months following injury. Data on the long-term natural course of TBI are scarce because the majority of studies stop following participants after six months. On the other hand, studies have documented dynamic TBI recovery that has persisted over time.
According to the multicenter Transforming Research and Clinical Knowledge in TBI (TRACK-TBI) study, the majority of level 1.0 trauma care patients with mild TBI (mTBI) still have symptoms and have trouble performing daily tasks a year after their injuries.
Patients with moderate-severe TBI (msTBI) in the TRACK-TBI study displayed a range of TBI outcomes, frequently achieving functional independence and returning to work, though full functional recovery was uncommon.
In total, 1,196 individuals with TBI were analyzed, having a mean age of 41 years, and among whom, 65% (n=781) were men, 13% (n=158) were Black, and 81% (n=965) were White. Among the participants, 859, 188, and 152 individuals belonged to the mTBI, msTBI, and OTC control groups, respectively. The proportion of individuals with acute intracranial findings on admission head CT scans was mTBI, and msTBI groups were 39% (n=322) and 91% (n=162), respectively.
The mTBI patients and OTC controls showed high functional independence levels of 98.0% to 100.0%, which remained stable over time. While the probability of independence was lesser for msTBI patients, 72% were functionally independent within a year, with an increase in proportion with time (80.0% within five years; annual independence: OR values for msTBI and mTBI were 1.3 and 0.8, respectively). Concerning other TBI outcomes, the differences among groups at 12 months remained stable with time.
