AccScience Publishing / BH / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/bh.4584
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

The influence of COVID-19 on clinical characteristics and prognosis of traumatic brain injury after rehabilitation treatment: An epidemiological comparative study

Ruba Altahla1 ,  Jamal Alshorman2*
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1 Department of Rehabilitation, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China
2 Department of Orthopedics, Clinical Medical College, Second Affiliated Hospital, Hubei University of Science and Technology, Xianning, Hubei, China
Brain & Heart, 4584 https://doi.org/10.36922/bh.4584
Submitted: 19 August 2024 | Revised: 15 November 2024 | Accepted: 18 November 2024 | Published: 10 December 2024
© 2024 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

The impact of traumatic brain injury (TBI) on health and epidemiological patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic in China remains poorly understood. This retrospective study aimed to examine the influence of COVID-19 on the epidemiological characteristics, prognosis, and rehabilitation outcomes of TBI patients. Medical records from three hospitals in Wuhan, China, were analyzed between January 2018 and December 2023 to examine TBI patients based on the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition. A total of 306 TBI patients were included in this study, divided into two groups: 186 patients without COVID-19 (Group 1) and 120 patients with COVID-19 (Group 2). The mean age was 39.47 ± 18 years in Group 1 and 40.95 ± 16.6 years in Group 2. Most patients were male. Road traffic accidents represent the leading cause of TBI in both groups, although it is more prevalent in Group 1 (73.7%) than in Group 2 (55.8%). There were no significant differences in injury severity or initial Glasgow Coma Scale scores between the groups. However, Group 2 showed significantly poorer recovery outcomes, as indicated by lower Functional Independence Measure and Barthel Index scores at discharge. In addition, post-surgical infection rates were higher in Group 2 (18.42%) compared to Group 1 (4.25%). This study highlights the need for further evaluation of the impact of COVID-19 on TBI epidemiology and recovery outcomes to guide improvements in health-care practices.

Keywords
Traumatic brain injury
Rehabilitation
COVID-19
Comparative study
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare they have no competing interests.
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Brain & Heart, Electronic ISSN: 2972-4139 Published by AccScience Publishing
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