Improved Outcomes following the Establishment of a Neurocritical Care Unit in Saudi Arabia
Table 1
Study demographics.
Variable
Group 1 (n = 364)
Group 2 (n = 208)
value
Age (years; mean ± SD)
39.5 ± 18.1
40.3 ± 17.9
0.6
Males (n (%))
301 (82.7%)
165 (79.3%)
0.3
APACHE 4 (mean ± SD)
67.9 ± 22.2
70.9 ± 22.5
0.1
Diagnosis:
Trauma (n (%))
257/364 (70.6%)
145/208 (69.7%)
0.9
(i) Polytrauma
129/257 (50.2%)
74/145 (51%)
0.96
With TBI
104/129 (80.6%)
59/74 (79.7%)
0.97
With spinal cord injury
25/129 (19.4%)
15/74 (20.3%)
0.97
(ii)Isolated head injury
128/257 (49.8%)
71/145 (49%)
0.96
Brain contusion
32/128 (25%)
23/71 (32.4%)
0.3
EDH
11/128 (8.6%)
7/71 (9.9%)
0.96
SDH
6/128 (4.7%)
4/71 (5.6%)
0.95
SAH
15/128 (11.7%)
11/71 (15.5%)
0.6
Diffuse brain injury
64/128 (50%)
34/71 (47.9%)
0.9
Nontraumatic (n (%))
107/364 (29.4%)
63/208 (30.3%)
0.89
ICH
17/107 (15.9%)
11/63 (17.5%)
0.95
SDH
4/107 (3.7%)
2/63 (3.2%)
0.8
SAH
3/107 (2.8%)
2/63 (3.2%)
0.75
Ischemic stroke
44/107 (41.1%)
19/63 (30.2%)
0.2
Brain tumor
8/107 (7.5%)
7/63 (11.1%)
0.6
Others
31/107 (29%)
22/63 (34.9%)
0.5
NCCU = neurocritical care unit; SD = standard deviation; n = number; APACHE = acute physiology and chronic health evaluation; EDH = extradural hemorrhage; SDH = subdural hemorrhage; SAH = subarachnoid hemorrhage; ICH = intracerebral hemorrhage; other neurological diagnoses included status epilepticus, encephalopathy, Guillain–Barré syndrome, and transverse myelitis.
