Abstract
Slewa-Younan S, Green AM, Baguley IJ, Gurka JA, Marosszeky JE. Sex differences in
injury severity and outcome measures after traumatic brain injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil
2004;85:376–9.
Objective
To investigate the effect of a patient’s sex on various measures of injury severity
and outcome after rehabilitation in a matched sample of patients with traumatic brain
injury (TBI).
Design
Retrospective data were retrieved from a database that contains information routinely
collected on all patients admitted for inpatient rehabilitation.
Setting
Inpatient rehabilitation unit of major teaching hospital in Australia.
Participants
Fifty-four women with TBI after a motor vehicle crash (MVC) were identified from the
Brain Injury Rehabilitation Database. An equal number of men were then matched for
age and years of education. All subjects met the study admission criteria of having
being involved in a high-speed MVC. Exclusion criteria included history of a previous
head injury, chronic amnesia, psychiatric disturbance, and significant alcohol and/or
substance abuse.
Interventions
Not applicable.
Main outcome measures
Differences, by sex, in patient scores on measures of injury severity and outcome
after TBI.
Results
Men had significantly greater levels of injury severity as indicated by the Glasgow
Coma Scale scores (U=994.0, P=.002) and length of posttraumatic amnesia (U=880.0, P=.016) when compared with women. No significant sex differences existed in the outcome
measures or in injuries not associated with the central nervous system.
Conclusions
Few investigations exist on the effect of patient sex on measures of injury severity
and outcome after a TBI. In the present study, men’s levels of injury severity were
greater than women’s despite the same admission criteria (high-speed MVC) being applied
to both sexes.
Keywords
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© 2003 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
