Nearly half of severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients could have survived with some functionality if life support was not withdrawn prematurely, according to a recently published new study.
Researchers created a mathematical model to calculate the likelihood of withdrawal from life-sustaining treatment, but the study's results are not applicable to brain death cases.
Early termination of life-sustaining treatments in non-brain-dead severe TBI patients can lead to unnecessary deaths, and clinicians' input is crucial as some hospitals decide on continuing life support within 72 hours, which may be premature.
Prognosis for severe TBI recovery is imprecise, making decisions challenging for families and caregivers. Clinicians should be cautious about early withdrawal of life support due to prognostic uncertainty, as some patients may benefit from a more measured approach.
Severe TBI affects over five million people worldwide each year, and predicting outcomes can be challenging for families.
Delaying decisions on withdrawing life support might benefit some patients, as survivors who did not withdraw life support had a high chance of recovering some independence, and remaining in a vegetative state six months after injury was unlikely.
Larger studies are needed to understand recovery trajectories for TBI patients, as a "cyclical, self-fulfilling prophecy" may lead to withdrawal of life support based on assumptions.
This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq
Sources: Live Science, Fox, alimente.elconfidencial.com, aerzteblatt.de, Mirror