Long-term outcome and health status in decompressive craniectomized patients with intractable intracranial pressure after severe brain injury

Objective: Decompressive craniectomy (DC) in severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains a controversial therapeutic strategy. The long-term functional recovery and health status in a sample of decompressive craniectomized TBI are reported.Methods: Patients with TBI who underwent DC were retrospectively investigated. Patients with cerebral haemorrhage (CH) and DC were considered as control group. In all survival patients admitted to a neuro-rehabilitation setting, the modified Rankin (mRS), Glasgow Outcome scale (GOS) and Barthel Scales (BS) were administered at admission, discharge, 1 year and follow-up. The quality-of-life was evaluated with the SF-36 questionnaire at follow-up (41.1 ± 16.6 months).Results: Seventy (33 F, 37 M, mean age = 46.8, SD = 18.8) patients were enrolled: 46 (20 F, 26 M) subjects with TBI and 24 (13 F, 11 M) with CH. After surgery, 11 (23.9%) and 10 (41.6%) subjects in the TBI and CH group, respectively, died. The mean Barthel scores were 4.0 (SD = 5.9), 60.9 (SD = 37.5), 63.7 (S...