A Study on the Psychological Impact on Key Caregivers of Traumatic Brain Injury Versus Non-traumatic Brain Injury in Critically Ill Trauma Patients.

BACKGROUND

Caregivers of patients admitted in intensive care units may experience acute emotional and psychological stress burden that can manifest as acute psychiatric symptoms and can negatively impact interpersonal relationships and work performance. The aim of this study is to elucidate the socioeconomic burden of trauma and the effect of psychological stress on key caregivers between traumatic brain injury (TBI) and non-TBI patients.

METHODS

The study was conducted on 200 caregivers of critically ill trauma patients admitted to the trauma ICU for at least 48 hours and were divided into two groups: Group 1- Patients with TBI with Trauma ICU admission of more than 48 hours and Group 2- Non-TBI patients (chest trauma, abdominal trauma, etc.) with Trauma ICU admission of more than 48 hours. The key caregivers in two groups were subjected to Critical Care Family Need Inventory (CCFNI) and to National Stressful Events Survey Acute Stress Disorder Short Scale (NSESSS) to measure the needs and severity of acute stress symptoms respectively) at 48 hours of ICU admission, day seven, day 15, and day 30 (follow-up). The statistical analysis was performed using SPSSv23 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA).

RESULTS

Motor vehicle collision was the most common mode of injury among patients in both groups. The sociodemographic parameters of the caregivers were comparable in both groups. Predominantly the patients were males while key caregivers were females. In Group 1 caregivers experienced higher family burden and severe psychological distress at ICU. At the time of admission, needs of caregivers in all the domains (support, comfort, information, accessibility and reassurance) were comparable in both groups. On day seven, the needs for information, accessibility, and reassurance in the TBI group were significantly higher than in the non-TBI group (p<0.01). On day 15, the needs for support, information, accessibility, and reassurance in the TBI group were significantly higher than in the non-TBI group (p≤0.001). On day 30, the needs for support, information, accessibility, and reassurance in the TBI group were significantly higher than in the non-TBI group (p<0.001) but need for comfort was higher in the non-TBI group (p<0.05). Caregivers of patients with TBI had higher stress burden and higher NSESSS than that of non-TBI (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION

We concluded that key caregivers of patients with TBI have a high stress burden, highlighting the importance of providing psychological support to this group.