Mild traumatic brain injury in psychiatric inpatients

The purpose of this study was to compare psychiatric inpatients with and without mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) on the variables of length of stay (LOS), number of psychiatric admissions, and change from admission to discharge on Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF). The study sample included 54 psychiatric inpatients, 18 to 65 years old, with a history of MTBI and 52 comparison psychiatric inpatients absent histories of MTBI, matched on age, sex and diagnostic category. LOS was longer for those with MTBI than for those without MTBI. This difference was statistically significant, after adjustment for matching. When adjusted for baseline GAF, this LOS difference remained statistically significant. The number of prior psychiatric admissions was 19% higher for participants with MTBI than for comparison participants, and when the LOS analysis was adjusted for this factor, it remained statistically significant. GAF change-from-baseline did not differ between the MTBI and comparison groups. Data from this study suggest that psychiatric inpatients with a history of MTBI may differ in frequency and length of hospitalization from otherwise similar inpatients without MTBI history.