Objective: Predicting outcomes in patients with traumatic brain injury is critically important for making sound clinical decisions. This study aimed at determining the prognostic value of the Rotterdam scoring system to predict early death among these patients.
Materials and methods: This study was performed prospectively on 150 patients with traumatic brain injury hospitalized in Shahid Beheshti Hospital, Kashan, Iran. Patients' demographic and clinical characteristics such as age, sex, mechanism of trauma, initial Glasgow Coma Scale score, and accompanying lesions were documented. A brain computed tomography was performed for each patient and scored by use of the Rotterdam system. Patients were monitored for 2 weeks after hospital discharge, and their outcomes were documented. Univariate and multiple logistic regression analysis and prognostic values of Rotterdam system were conducted by SPSS software.
Results: Nineteen patients (12.7%) died during the course of the study. The mean age of the dead patients was significantly greater than those who survived (P = 0.037). The sensitivity and the specificity of the Rotterdam scoring system at the cutoff score of 4 were 84.2% and 96.2%, respectively. Rotterdam score was significantly correlated with patient outcomes (P < 0.0001). Moreover, logistic regression analyses revealed that factors such as age, sex, Glasgow Coma Scale score, and Rotterdam score significantly contributed to patient outcomes.
Conclusions: Rotterdam score is an independent factor for predicting outcomes among patients with traumatic brain injury. At the cutoff score of 4, the Rotterdam system can predict outcomes among patients suffering from traumatic brain injury with acceptable sensitivity and specificity.
Keywords: Computed tomography; Head trauma; Rotterdam scoring system.
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