Number of fractured calvarial bones predicts outcome in traumatic brain injury patients after early craniotomy.

BACKGROUND: Prognostic markers are important for neurosurgeons to evaluate the indications for aggressive surgical management. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the number of fractured calvarial bones could predict the outcome in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) after early craniotomy. METHODS: TBI patients who underwent early craniotomy were reviewed. The number of fractured calvarial bones was recorded by referring to preoperative computed tomographic (CT) images. Accordingly, patients were assigned to no calvarial fracture group, single calvarial fracture group, and multiple calvarial fractures group. Good outcome was defined as Glasgow Outcome Scale scores of 4 and 5 at discharge. Logistic regression analyses were used to assess the effect of calvarial fracture on outcome. A receiver operating characteristic curve was generated for the final model. RESULTS: In all, a total of 141 patients were enrolled. Patients with no calvarial fracture had a significantly lower rate of good outcome (12.5%) than did those with a single calvarial fracture (62.2%, P < 0.001) and those with multiple calvarial fractures (48.6%, P = 0.005). Binary logistic regression showed that the number of fractured calvarial bones was an independent imaging marker for predicting outcome (P = 0.003) after adjustment for age, Glasgow Coma Scale score on admission, and decompressive craniectomy. The area under the curve of the final model was 0.863. CONCLUSIONS: The number of fractured calvarial bones is an independent predictor of outcome in TBI patients after early craniotomy. No calvarial facture is associated with poor outcome in these patients.