Pediatric severe TBI in South America: Healthcare resource utilization before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABSTRACT: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of pediatric morbidity and mortality worldwide. Understanding healthcare utilization during hospitalization for severe TBI across varied resource settings is crucial for informing improvements in clinical practice, patient outcomes, and for reducing TBI burden. We examined hospital services utilization among children with severe TBI in South America. This secondary analysis of data collected during the baseline period of a randomized controlled trial implementing severe TBI clinical management guidelines identified pediatric patients (<18 years) with severe TBI across 16 hospitals in Argentina, Chile, and Paraguay between September 1, 2019 and July 13, 2020. Demographics, injury characteristics, clinical presentation, intensive care unit (ICU

SUBMITTER: Graves JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12061101 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature