Clinical Value of TCCD for Evaluating the Prognosis of Patients with Severe Traumatic Brain Injury After Large Decompressive Craniectomy: A Retrospective Study

Introduction: It is challenging to assess the prognosis of patients with severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI) after large decompressive craniectomy (DC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical value of transcranial colorcoded duplex sonography (TCCD) for assessing the prognosis of sTBI patients 6 months after large DC. Methods: This was a retrospective observational study that consecutively enrolled 84 patients with sTBI who were followed up for prognosis until 6 months after large DC. The primary endpoint was the Glasgow Outcome Score (GOS). According to the GOS, patients were divided into an unfavorable prognosis group (GOS 1-3, n = 47) and a favorable prognosis group (GOS 4-5, n = 37). Results: Significant between-group differences were found in age and hemodynamic parameters (systolic peak blood flow velocity, end-diastolic blood flow velocity, mean blood flow velocity, pulsatility index and resistance index) of the middle cerebral artery detected by TCCD (P < 0.05 for all). Subsequently, ridge regression was used to build a prognostic model for patients with large DC. Based on the cerebral hemodynamic parameters measured by TCCD and age, the mean (+/- standard deviation) area under the curve of the prognostic model in patients with sTBI after large DC was 0.76 +/- 0.22. The sensitivity and specificity were 82.08% and 74.17%, respectively. Conclusions: The cerebral hemodynamic parameters detected by TCCD, combined with age, may be used to predict the outcomes of patients with sTBI at 6 months after large DC. As a noninvasive method, TCCD has the potential to assess the prognosis of these patients.

Automated summary

This study found that the cerebral hemodynamic parameters detected by transcranial colorcoded duplex sonography (TCCD), combined with age, can help predict the prognosis of patients with severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI) at 6 months after large decompressive craniectomy (DC). The findings suggest that TCCD is a noninvasive method with the potential to assess the prognosis of these patients.