Clinical and Translational Neuroscience · Published 2025-11-24 · DOI 10.3390/ctn9040054
<b>Background</b>: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) represents a growing cause of medical emergencies globally. <b>Objective</b>: This study evaluates whether healthcare outcomes for TBI patients differ between daytime and on-call (after-hours) admissions. <b>Methods</b>: A retrospective analysis was conducted using data from a hospital database spanning January 2015 to December 2019. Of the 670 cases reviewed, 45 patients over the age of 65 were admitted with head trauma. Data were analyzed using SPSS. <b>Results</b>: Surgical interventions were significantly less frequent during on-call hours. Admission type (elective vs. emergent) showed a statistically significant difference (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Postoperative ICU length of stay (LOS) was markedly longer for on-call admissions (<i>p</i> = 0.002). Due to a controlled sample size, <i>p</i>-value interpretations would need some discretion. TBI patients admitted during on-call hours had a 9.9-fold increase in ICU stay, a 2.5-fold increase in total hospital LOS, and a 475% higher complication rate compared to daytime admissions. Complication rates were 20% for daytime admissions versus 92% for on-call admissions. Furthermore, patients treated during on-call hours were 11 times more likely to be discharged in an unconscious state (GCS < 8). <b>Conclusions</b>: TBI outcomes are significantly worse during on-call hours. Enhancing imaging availability and staffing during these periods may help improve patient outcomes.
Abstract from DOAJ. Public domain (CC0 1.0).
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