Splenectomy in patients with traumatic brain injury: protective or harmful? A National Trauma Data Bank analysis

Experimental data have demonstrated a potential survival benefit for animals undergoing splenectomy immediately after traumatic brain injury. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of splenectomy on survival in patients with moderate or severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).

This is a National Trauma Data Bank (2002-2009) analysis and included patients sustaining moderate or severe blunt head trauma (head Abbreviated Injury Scale [AIS] score, 3-5), with an associated splenic injury and an exploratory laparotomy. The population was divided into two arms: those that had a splenectomy and those who did not. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Logistic regression was performed to adjust for factors that were significantly different between the study groups.

During the 9-year study period, 2,625 patients met the criteria for inclusion in the analysis. Of these, 1,450 (55%) had a splenectomy, and 1,175 (45%) did not. Mortality was 13% for the splenectomized compared with 9% for the nonsplenectomized population (p = 0.001). After logistic regression, mortality remained significantly higher in the splenectomized population (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.62; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16-2.26; p = 0.005). After stratification according to the severity of brain injury, the association between splenectomy and increased mortality persisted for both patients with moderate head injury (8% vs. 6%; AOR, 2.43; 95% CI, 1.26-4.71; p = 0.008) and for patients with severe head injury (17% vs. 10%; AOR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.03-2.19; p = 0.036).

Splenectomy was independently associated with increased mortality in patients with moderate or severe TBI. This finding warrants further investigation regarding splenic preservation in patients with TBI.

Therapeutic study, level IV.