TABLE 3.
Injury Characteristics Among Patients With pTBI or Open Skull Fracture, Stratified by Infection Status
| Characteristic, n (%) | Total Patients (N = 106) | Patients With CNS Infection (n = 12) | Patients Without CNS Infection (n = 94) | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retained fragment | 0.03 | |||
| Yes | 78 (73.6) | 12 (100) | 66 (70.2) | |
| No | 28 (26.4) | 0 (0) | 28 (29.8) | |
| Fragment type* | 0.91 | |||
| Bone | 27 (25.5) | 5 (41.7) | 22 (33.9) | |
| Shrapnel/bullet | 10 (9.4) | 1 (8.3) | 9 (13.9) | |
| Both | 40 (37.7) | 6 (50.0) | 34 (52.3) | |
| Missing | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Presenting GCS, median (IQR) | 13.0 (7–15) | 8 (7–11) | 14 (8–15) | 0.01 |
| Missing | 19 | 3 | 16 | |
| CSF leak | 0.06 | |||
| Yes | 21 (19.8) | 5 (41.7) | 16 (17.0) | |
| No | 85 (80.2) | 7 (58.3) | 78 (83.0) | |
| Foreign object | 0.28 | |||
| Yes | 55 (51.9) | 8 (66.7) | 47 (50.0) | |
| No | 51 (48.1) | 4 (33.3) | 47 (50.0) | |
| Injury type | 0.37 | |||
| Missile | 40 (37.7) | 6 (50.0) | 34 (36.2) | |
| Blast | 60 (56.6) | 5 (41.7) | 55 (58.5) | |
| Other | 6 (5.7) | 1 (8.3) | 5 (5.3) |
*Differences in the type of retained fragment in patients with CNS infection versus those without were examined among the subgroup of 78 patients who had a retained fragment.
IQR, interquartile range.