Objective: This study aimed to investigate blood glucose levels in patients with brain injury caused by mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a foundation for determining whether these patients need a brain CT scan or not.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on patients with mild TBI, who were referred to the emergency department from March 1, 2022, to September 1, 2022. After the confirmation of mild TBI by an emergency medicine specialist, blood samples were taken from the patients to measure blood glucose levels. Then a brain CT scan was performed, and blood glucose levels were compared between patients with and without CT indications of brain injury. A checklist was used to collect data, and the data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 23).
Results: In the CT scans of the 157 patients included in the study, 30 patients (19.2%) had a brain injury in the CT scan. The mean blood glucose level was significantly higher in patients with brain injury, especially in the presence of vertigo and ataxia, than patients without brain injury in the CT scan (p<0.0001). There was a significant positive correlation between age and blood glucose level (r=0.315, p<0.0001).
Conclusion: Patients with mild TBI who had signs of brain injury in the CT scan had significantly higher blood glucose levels than patients with normal CT scan findings. Although indications for performing a brain CT scan are usually based on clinical criteria, blood glucose levels can be helpful in determining the requirement for a brain CT scan in patients with mild TBI.
Keywords: Blood glucose; Brain injury; Emergency department; Glasgow coma scale.