Pre-injury polypharmacy predicts mortality in isolated severe traumatic brain injury patients

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2017

Publication Title

American Journal of Surgery

Volume

213

Issue

6

First page number:

1104

Last page number:

1108

Abstract

Background The use of 5 or more medications is defined as polypharmacy (PPM). The clinical impact of PPM on the isolated severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) patient has not been defined. Methods A retrospective cohort study was performed at our academic level 1 trauma center examining patients with isolated TBI. Pre-injury medications were reviewed, and inhospital mortality was the primary measured outcome. Results There were 698 patients with an isolated TBI over the 5-year study period; 177 (25.4%) patients reported pre-injury PPM. There were 18 (10.2%) deaths in the PPM cohort and 24 (4.6%) deaths in the non-PPM cohort (P < .0001). Stepwise logistic regression analysis revealed a 2.3 times greater risk of mortality in the PPM patients (P =.019). Conclusions Pre-injury PPM increases mortality in patients with isolated severe TBI. This knowledge may provide opportunities for intervention in this population. © 2016 Elsevier Inc.

Disciplines

English Language and Literature

File Format

pdf

File Size

193 kb

Language

english

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