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Ante-Mortem Clinical Characterization with Post-Mortem Family Interview and Medical Record Abstraction in a Traumatic
Amelia J Hicks1, Enna Selmanovic1,2,3, Ariel Pruyser1
1Department of Rehabilitation and Human Performance, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
Neurotrauma Reports
|September 8, 2025
Summary
Post-mortem family interviews (PFIs) provide crucial ante-mortem clinical details for traumatic brain injury (TBI) research. These interviews enhance neuropathology studies by capturing unique patient history and symptom data.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neuropathology
- Public Health
Background:
- Large-scale post-mortem tissue collection aids traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic neurodegeneration (PTND) research.
- Clinicopathological correlation necessitates ante-mortem clinical data.
- Post-mortem family interviews (PFIs) are vital for gathering comprehensive ante-mortem information.
Purpose of the Study:
- To summarize the experience of using PFIs in the Late Effects of TBI (LETBI) brain donor program.
- To guide the replication, expansion, and refinement of PFI methods in TBI research.
- To highlight the value of PFIs in multi-modal autopsies for TBI neuropathology.
Main Methods:
- Described content development and structure of the LETBI PFI.
- Detailed interviewer training, qualifications, and considerations (duration, selection, timing).
- Assessed PFI inter-rater reliability and compared PFI data with medical records for 34 decedents.
Main Results:
- PFIs capture granular clinical history, symptom trajectories, and potential PTND contributing factors.
- Information includes social determinants of health, family history, and contextual death information.
- PFIs offer unique insights complementary to medical record data.
Conclusions:
- PFIs are essential for detailed clinical-pathological correlation in chronic TBI and PTND.
- PFIs provide unique data not always available in standard medical records.
- The PFI method is a valuable component of comprehensive TBI neuropathology research.
