National survey of current practices and attitudes regarding discharge disposition for older adults with mild traumatic brain injury and traumatic intracranial hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND

Older patients with traumatic intracranial hemorrhage (tICH) following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) are commonly seen by neurologists in clinical practice. Due to the lack of clear evidence on optimal management, most guidelines recommend hospital admission for these patients. However, some studies have shown that selected low-risk patients can be safely discharged from the Emergency Department (ED). In light of these differing opinions and a lack of Class 1 evidence, we aimed to explore current management practices and attitudes toward tICH in older mTBI patients in the Netherlands.

METHODS

A national online survey, involving the disposition strategies for five case vignettes of tICH, was sent to neurology residents and neurologists to explore current variations in clinical practice. We evaluated patient and hemorrhage characteristics influencing decisions regarding the discharge disposition of a patient from the ED.

RESULTS

The survey was completed by 113 respondents, including 36 (32%) residents and 77 (68%) neurologists. In all the cases, over 70% of respondents preferred hospital admission over ED discharge for older mTBI patients with tICH. There was substantial variation in the respondents' willingness to participate in a randomized trial evaluating the necessity of hospital admission after mTBI with tICH. Factors influencing admission varied between cases. A secondary deterioration risk of 1-2% was considered acceptable by the majority (53%) to allow direct ED discharge.

CONCLUSION

Our findings demonstrate limited willingness among clinicians to discharge older mTBI patients with tICH directly from the ED. To support safe and consistent decision-making, high-quality evidence is urgently needed to guide disposition decisions for older mTBI patients with tICH.