• Graham Ratcliff, Angela Colantonio, Michael Escobar, Susan Chase, and Lee Vernich.
• HealthSouth Harmarville Rehabilitation Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
• Disabil Rehabil. 2005 Mar 18;27(6):305-14.

PurposeThe study used a retrospective cohort design to establish long-term mortality rates and predictors of mortality for persons after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).MethodConsecutive records of persons with moderate to severe TBI who were discharged from a large rehabilitation hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the years 1974-1984, 1988 and 1989 were reviewed.ResultsSix hundred and forty-two eligible individuals were identified and mortality was ascertained up to 24 years post injury. One hundred and twenty-eight of these individuals were found to be deceased. Poisson regression analyses revealed at least a 2-fold increased risk for mortality compared to the general population. Pre-injury characteristics and levels of disability at discharge from in-patient rehabilitation were among the strongest predictors of mortality.ConclusionsThese data constitute evidence for premature death in the post-acute TBI population following a moderate to severe head injury and are discussed in relation to other research in the area.

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