Injury-to-Admission Delay Beyond 4 Hours Is Associated with Worsening Outcomes for Traumatic Brain Injury in Cambodia

BACKGROUND: In Cambodia, the most common victims of traumatic brain injury (TBI) are men 20-30 years of age involved in motor vehicle collision. Secondary injury sustained by these patients occurs during the time period between initial insult and hospital admission. Strengthening prehospital systems for TBI in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) such as Cambodia is therefore a key element of the development agenda for universal health equity. We report a retrospective analysis of the relationship between prehospital delays and TBI outcomes among patients from a large government hospital in Cambodia. METHODS: Data were collected from 3476 patients with TBI admitted to a major government hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, from June 2013 to June 2018. Patients with missing data or those admitted >8 hours postinjury were excluded. Statistical analyses examined associations between injury-to-admission delay (IAD) and outcomes such as Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) score and length of stay (LOS). RESULTS: A total of 2125 patients with TBI (76.85% men) were included. The median age was 27 years (interquartile range, 22-37 years). Injury severity at presentation included 1406 mild (66%), 464 moderate (22%), and 240 severe cases (11%). No Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) data were available for 15 patients (1%). We found an inverse relationship between IAD and GOS score, most evidently for mild and moderate TBI (n = 1870; 88%). Regression analysis revealed a marked decrease in GOS score at the IAD >4-hour threshold. Each 30-minute delay in IAD was correlated with >2-hour increase in LOS for mild (P < 0.001) and moderate TBI (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In a retrospective cohort of >2000 patients with TBI from Cambodia, we found that increasing IAD was associated with worsening outcome, especially beyond the 4-hour threshold. These data should inform development of prehospital guidelines for TBI care in LMICs.