[Infectious complications in acute period after traumatic brain injury]

Patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) are at high risk of infection.

To delineate infections in acute period of TBI, association between intracranial lesion type and risk of infection, as well as to estimate treatment outcomes in these patients depending on infection.

This study included 104 patients with TBI (80 men and 24 women) aged 33.01±14.35 years. All patients met the inclusion criteria: admission within 72 hours after TBI, age 18-75 years, ICU-stay >48 hours, available brain MRI data. Mild, moderate and severe TBI were diagnosed in 7%, 11% and 82% of patients, respectively. Analysis of infections was performed in accordance with the definitions of the Centers for Disease Control/National Healthcare Safety Network (CDC/NHSN).

Acute period of TBI is associated with high incidence of infection (73%), and prevalent infection is pneumonia (58.7%). Severe intracranial damage in acute period of TBI (grade 4-8 according to MR-based classification by A.A. Potapov and N.E. Zakharova) is associated with higher incidence of infection. Infectious complications more than twice increase duration of mechanical ventilation, ICU- and hospital-stay.

Infectious complications significantly affect treatment outcomes in acute period of TBI increasing duration of mechanical ventilation, ICU- and hospital-stay.