Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of 4557 study patients from six centres*
| Characteristic | All patients (n=4557) | Missing | Patients with CT (n=3742) | Patients without CT (n=815) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years; mean (range)) | 53.1 (16-101) | — | 56.9 (16-101) | 35.7 (16-96) |
| Male sex | 2656 (58.3) | — | 2145 (57.3) | 511 (62.7) |
| Glasgow coma scale score at presentation | ||||
| 13 | 143 (3.1) | — | 141 (3.8) | 2 (0.2) |
| 14 | 500 (11.0) | 492 (13.1) | 8 (1.0) | |
| 15 | 3914 (85.9) | 3109 (83.1) | 805 (98.8) | |
| Use of anticoagulation | ||||
| None | 4045 (88.8) | 29 (0.6) | 3233 (86.4) | 812 (99.6) |
| Coumarin | 418 (9.2) | 418 (11.2) | — | |
| Direct oral anticoagulants | 54 (1.2) | 53 (1.4) | 1 (0.1) | |
| Use of thrombocyte aggregation inhibitors | 615 (13.5) | 33 (0.7) | 577 (15.4) | 38 (4.7) |
| Bleeding disorder | 44 (1) | 33 (0.7) | 41 (1.1) | 3 (0.4) |
| Mechanism of injury | ||||
| Pedestrian in road traffic accident | 64 (1.4) | 47(1.0) | 57 (1.5) | 7 (0.9) |
| Cyclist in road traffic accident | 162 (3.6) | 152 (4.1) | 10 (1.2) | |
| Fall from height | 574 (12.6) | 532 (14.2) | 42 (5.2) | |
| Other† | 3710 (81.4) | 2955 (79.0) | 755 (92.6) | |
| Ejected from vehicle | 150 (3.3) | 56 (1.2) | 135 (3.6) | 15 (1.8) |
| Loss of consciousness | ||||
| None | 2714 (59.6) | 651 (14.3) | 1968 (52.6) | 746 (91.5) |
| ≤15 min | 1160 (25.5) | 1105 (29.5) | 55 (6.7) | |
| >15 min | 32 (0.7) | 31 (0.8) | 1 (0.1) | |
| Retrograde amnesia | ||||
| None | 3425 (75.2) | 675 (14.8) | 2637 (70.5) | 788 (96.7) |
| ≤30 min | 312 (6.8) | 303 (8.1) | 9 (1.1) | |
| >30 min | 145 (3.2) | 144 (3.8) | 1 (0.1) | |
| Post-traumatic amnesia | ||||
| None | 2951 (64.8) | 502 (11) | 2185 (58.4) | 766 (94.0) |
| ≤2 h | 976 (21.4) | 948 (25.3) | 28 (3.4) | |
| 2-4 h | 69 (1.5) | 68 (1.8) | 1 (0.1) | |
| >4 h | 59 (1.3) | 59 (1.6) | — | |
| Intoxication with drugs or alcohol‡ | 1031 (22.6) | 85 (1.9) | 922 (24.6) | 109 (13.4) |
| Post-traumatic seizure | 36 (0.8) | 68 (1.5) | 33 (0.9) | 3 (0.4) |
| Headache | 1410 (30.9) | 630 (13.8) | 1208 (32.3) | 202 (24.8) |
| Vomiting | ||||
| Once | 158 (3.5) | 50 (1.1) | 148 (4.0) | 10 (1.2) |
| Twice or more | 144 (3.2) | 142 (3.8) | 2 (0.2) | |
| Deterioration in Glasgow coma scale (1 h after presentation) | ||||
| 1 point | 38 (0.8) | 23 (0.5) | 38 (1.0) | — |
| ≥2 points | 12 (0.3) | 12 (0.3) | — | |
| Neurological deficit | 130 (2.9) | 141 (3.1) | 128 (3.4) | 2 (0.2) |
| Signs of skull base fracture | 144 (3.2) | 25 (0.5) | 139 (3.7) | 5 (0.6) |
| Visible injury of the head | 2564 (56.3) | 19 (0.4) | 2208 (59) | 356 (43.7) |
| Visible injury of the face | 1631 (35.8) | 22 (0.5) | 1315 (35.1) | 316 (38.8) |
| Suspicion of open fracture | 11 (0.2) | 40 (0.9) | 11 (0.3) | — |
| Injury severity score (mean (range)) | 6.5 (0-75) | — | 7.1 (0-75) | 3.5 (0-29) |
Data are number (%) of patients unless stated otherwise. CT=computed tomography.
*
These centres refer to those on the left hand side of figure 1, for the primary analysis.
†
Includes patients with mild head injury such as a bumped head against an object.
‡
History or suggestive findings on examination (eg, nystagmus, abnormal walking).