Correlation Between Clinical Findings at Admission and Glasgow Outcome Scale Score in Children with Traumatic Brain Injury

Objective: Traumatic brain injury has different pathophysiology and outcomes in children and adults. This study investigated the relationship between clinical and laboratory findings at admission and Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) score in children with traumatic brain injury. Methods: This prospective cross-sectional single-center study enrolled 444 children 1–16 years old admitted to the neurosurgery ward from 2016 to 2020. Clinical data and laboratory information were extracted from the records of these patients at admission, and the relationship with GOS score at discharge was investigated. Results: The 444 patients include 249 (56.08%) boys and 195 (43.92%) girls with a mean age of 7.32 ± 4.4 years. There was no correlation between GOS score and sex (P = 0.12), age (P = 0.16), serum potassium level (P = 0.08), platelet level (P = 0.21), and blood glucose (P = 0.18). There was a significant relationship between GOS score and hypotension (P = 0.03), hyponatremia (P = 0.04), prothrombin time (P = 0.03), partial thromboplastin time (P = 0.03), pupil size (P = 0.02), pupil reaction to light (P = 0.04), and Glasgow Coma Scale score (P = 0.04). Conclusions: Clinical and laboratory findings such as hypotension, hyponatremia, prothrombin time, partial thromboplastin time, pupil size, pupil reaction to light, and Glasgow Coma Scale score at admission could affect GOS score at discharge and result in poor outcomes in children with traumatic brain injury.