Thiamine use is associated with better outcomes for traumatic brain injury patients.

BACKGROUND

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a global health concern that often leads to poor prognosis. We designed this study to explore whether thiamine use is associated with a better prognosis of TBI.

METHODS

TBI patients selected from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care-III database were included in the study. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to examine the relationship between thiamine use and mortality in TBI patients. Propensity score matching (PSM) was utilized to generate balanced cohorts of the non-thiamine use group and the thiamine use group. Subgroup analysis was performed in the cohort after PSM to verify the association between thiamine use and mortality in TBI patients across different stratifications.

RESULTS

The incidence of thiamine use in TBI was 18.3%. The thiamine use group had a lower 30-day mortality rate ( < 0.001), a longer length of ICU stay ( < 0.001), and a longer length of hospital stay ( < 0.001) than the non-thiamine use group, both in the primary cohort before PSM and the cohort after PSM. A multivariate Cox regression analysis confirmed that thiamine use was independently associated with mortality (OR = 0.454, < 0.001) after adjusting for confounding effects. In the cohort after PSM, the subgroup analysis showed that thiamine use is associated with lower mortality in TBI patients with a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of < 13, but it is not associated with mortality in TBI patients whose GCS score is ≥13.

CONCLUSION

Thiamine supplementation is effective in improving the outcome of TBI, except in cases of mild TBI. The optimal thiamine supplementation strategy for TBI is worthwhile to be explored in future studies.