Validating the incidence of coagulopathy and disseminated intravascular coagulation in patients with traumatic brain injury – analysis of 242 cases

Objectives: To estimate the incidence of coagulopathy and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and to investigate its relationship to patient outcome.Design: A prospective observational study.Measurements and main results. From January 2007 to June 2009, 242 consecutive adult patients with TBI seen in three independent hospitals were recruited. Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) on admission, platelet counts (PLT), prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), fibrinogen (FIB), d-dimer (D-DT) and DIC scores were recorded for each case on admission. Clinical outcome was measured according to the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) at 3 months after injury. Statistical analysis was carried using Student's t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Tudey test. Coagulation abnormalities were present in approximately 50% of patients with TBI. Prolonged PT and increased D-DT and FIB levels occurred in patients with more severe brain injury and po...