Complex patterns of functional change among TBI survivors from discharge to 6-month follow-up: Findings from a registry-based cohort study

09 Jul 20264 min read0 viewsJournal Feed

GIST (Key Takeaways)

by Hosein Kouchaki, Sina Bazmi, Saman Rabiei, Parnia Kamyab, Mohammadreza Khosravi, Reza Taheri, Hosseinali Khalili, Reza Tabrizi Background Functional recovery after traumatic brain injury (TBI) is heterogeneous, and reliance on single time-point outcomes may obscure meaningful post-discharge change. Objective To identify early clinical, laboratory, and radiologic factors associated with functional change between hospital discharge and six-month follow-up using the Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended (GOSE). Methods In this longitudinal study, 2,948 TBI survivors aged 12 years or older admitted to a tertiary trauma center underwent GOSE assessment at discharge and six months post-discharge.
Functional trajectories were classified as recovering, stable, or regressing. Multinomial logistic regression evaluated associations between early variables and functional trajectories. Analyses were additionally stratified by discharge GOSE to assess statistical effects.
Results Substantial bidirectional functional change occurred after discharge. Several variables, including age, Glasgow Coma Scale, subarachnoid or intraventricular hemorrhage, hemoglobin, and coagulation indices, were associated with both recovery and regression. Discharge GOSE strongly predicted subsequent change but increased the odds of both improvement and decline.

Clinical Editorial

PLOS ONE (Medicine) published a clinical update in Research Highlights on 09 Jul 2026.

The item focuses on Complex patterns of functional change among TBI survivors from discharge to 6-month follow-up: Findings from a registry-based cohort study.

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