Do young patients have worse outcomes after severe blunt head trauma?

Abstract

The influence of age on very late outcome was examined in 40 patients who had received very severe blunt head trauma (post-traumatic amnesia greater than or equal to 1 month), and who were aged 15-44 years when injured. The patients were first seen on average 4.5 months after injury and then at two follow-up examinations in their homes 2.5 and 10-15 years after the trauma. There was no significant correlation between age when injured and post-traumatic amnesia. The frequency of 13 late cognitive, behavioural, social and subjective problems was examined at the second follow-up and compared with the observations made 2.5 years after injury. A statistical analysis indicated that the younger the patient the higher the risk of late behavioural and emotional sequelae. The results have been related to information and observations obtained from the home visits.