•Mortality among older adults with moderate to severe TBI was as high as 93 %.•Mortality had a dramatic increase for those ≥80 years old.•No factor was universally associated with increased ...mortality.•Older adults were less likely to be discharged home than younger adults.•Up to 8.4 % of older adults needed professional assistance at home.
This study examined the research on older adults with a moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), with a focus on mortality and discharge disposition.
Systematic searches were conducted in MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE and PsycINFO for studies up to April 2022 in accordance with PRISMA guidelines.
64 studies, published from 1992 to 2022, met the inclusion criteria. Mortality was higher for older adults ≥60 years old than for their younger counterparts; with a dramatic increase for those ≥80 yr, with rates as high as 93 %. Similar findings were reported regarding mortality in intensive care, surgical mortality, and mortality post-hospital discharge; with an 80 % rate at 1-year post-discharge. Up to 68.4 % of older adults were discharged home; when compared to younger adults, those ≥65 years were less likely to be discharged home (50–51 %), compared to those <64 years (77 %). Older adults were also more likely to be discharged to long-term care (up to 31.6 %), skilled nursing facilities (up to 46.1 %), inpatient rehabilitation (up to 26.9 %), and palliative or hospice care (up to 58 %).
Given their vulnerability, optimizing outcomes for older adults with moderate-severe TBI across the healthcare continuum is critical.
