Table 2.
Baseline characteristics Delphi panel
| Number | Percent | |
|---|---|---|
| Total number of Delphi panelists | 50 | 100 |
| Total number of participating centers | 37 | 100 |
| Gender (N = 50) | ||
| Male | 40 | 80 |
| Female | 10 | 20 |
| Profession (N = 50) | ||
| Neurosurgeon | 7 | 14 |
| Intensivist | 24 | 48 |
| Neurologist | 5 | 10 |
| Anesthesiologist | 5 | 10 |
| Trauma surgeon | 2 | 4 |
| Rehabilitation specialist | 3 | 6 |
| Methodologist/researcher in TBI | 3 | 6 |
| Neurophysiologist | 1 | 2 |
| Number of years of professional experience at the ICU a(N = 44) | ||
| 3–5 years | 4 | 9 |
| 5–10 years | 8 | 18 |
| 10–15 years | 7 | 16 |
| > 15 years | 25 | 57 |
| Primary responsible/in charge for the daily care of patients with TBI at the ICU a(N = 45) | ||
| Yes | 21 | 47 |
| No | 24 | 53 |
| Location b(N = 50) | ||
| Northern Europe | 6 | 12 |
| Western Europe | 28 | 56 |
| UK | 5 | 10 |
| Southern Europe | 8 | 16 |
| Eastern Europe | 2 | 4 |
| Baltic States | 1 | 2 |
| Center (N = 44) | ||
| Academic | 37 | 84 |
| Nonacademic | 7 | 16 |
| Center location c(N = 45) | ||
| Urban | 44 | 98 |
| Suburban | 1 | 2 |
| Trauma designation d(N = 45) | ||
| Level I | 31 | 69 |
| Level II | 1 | 2 |
| Level III | 7 | 15 |
| Our center is not officially designated as a trauma center | 3 | 7 |
| Our country does not explicitly designate trauma centers | 3 | 7 |
| Electronic patient records a(N = 45) | ||
| Yes | 43 | 96 |
| No | 2 | 4 |
| Participation in CENTER-TBI study (N = 49) | ||
| Yes | 31 | 63 |
| No | 18 | 42 |
Level II trauma center: A level II trauma center provides comprehensive trauma care in either a population-dense area in which a level II trauma center may supplement the clinical activity and expertise of a level I institution or occur in less population-dense areas. In the latter case, the level II trauma center serves as the lead trauma facility for a geographic area when a level I institution is not geographically close enough to do so. It is characterized by 24-h in-house availability of an attending surgeon and the prompt availability of other specialties (e.g., neurosurgeon, trauma surgeon). Level III trauma center: A level III trauma center has the capacity to initially manage the majority of injured patients and have transfer agreements with a level I or II trauma center for seriously injured patients whose needs exceed the facility’s resources
TBI traumatic brain injury, CENTER-TBI study Collaborative European NeuroTrauma Effectiveness Research in Traumatic Brain Injury study, ICU intensive care unit
aOnly asked to those who answered clinician as a profession
bLocation is based on United Nations geoscheme: Northern Europe = Norway (1), Sweden (2), Finland (2), and Denmark (1); Western Europe = Austria(1), Belgium (3), France (1), Germany (4), Switzerland (1), and The Netherlands (18); the UK and Ireland (5), Southern Europe = Portugal (1), Italy (5), and Spain (2); Eastern Europe = Ukraine (1), Serbia (1); Baltic States = Latvia (1)
cUrban: an hospital location very near to a city and situated in a crowded area
Suburban: between urban and rural (an hospital location in or very near to the countryside in an area that is not crowded.)
dLevel I trauma center: A regional resource center that generally serves large cities or population-dense areas. A level I trauma center is expected to manage large numbers of severely injured patients (at least 1200 trauma patients annually or have 240 admissions with an Injury Severity Score of more than 14). It is characterized by 24-h in-house availability of an attending surgeon and the prompt availability of other specialties (e.g., neurosurgeon, trauma surgeon)