The prognostic value of an age-adjusted BIG score in adult patients with traumatic brain injury

Background: The base deficit, international normalized ratio, and Glasgow Coma Scale (BIG) score was previously developed to predict the outcomes of pediatric trauma patients. We designed this study to explore and improve the prognostic value of the BIG score in adult patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods: Adult patients diagnosed with TBI in a public critical care database were included in this observational study. The BIG score was calculated based on the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), the international normalized ratio (INR), and the base deficit. Logistic regression analysis was performed to confirm the association between the BIG score and the outcome of included patients. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were drawn to evaluate the prognostic value of the BIG score and novel constructed models. Results: In total, 1,034 TBI patients were included in this study with a mortality of 22.8%. Non-survivors had higher BIG scores than survivors (p < 0.001). The results of multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that age (p < 0.001), pulse oxygen saturation (SpO(2)) (p = 0.032), glucose (p = 0.015), hemoglobin (p = 0.047), BIG score (p < 0.001), subarachnoid hemorrhage (p = 0.013), and intracerebral hematoma (p = 0.001) were associated with in-hospital mortality of included patients. The AUC (area under the ROC curves) of the BIG score was 0.669, which was not as high as in previous pediatric trauma cohorts. However, combining the BIG score with age increased the AUC to 0.764. The prognostic model composed of significant factors including BIG had the highest AUC of 0.786. Conclusion: The age-adjusted BIG score is superior to the original BIG score in predicting mortality of adult TBI patients. The prognostic model incorporating the BIG score is beneficial for clinicians, aiding them in making early triage and treatment decisions in adult TBI patients.