Impact of a Devastating Brain Injury Pathway on Outcomes, Resources, and Organ Donation: 3 Years’ Experience in a Regional Neurosciences ICU

Objective To assess the impact of introducing a devastating brain injury (DBI) pathway on patient outcome, intensive care unit (ICU) resources, and organ donation practice in the first 3 years of implementation in a regional neurosciences ICU in the South West of England. Methods Patients with DBI admitted to our ICU between 2015 and 2018 were identified from our ICU database and their outcomes compared to those of non-DBI patients. Data were also obtained from the national potential donor audit to compare organ donation metrics before and after the introduction of the DBI pathway. Organ donation metrics in DBI patients and non-DBI patients were compared once the pathway had been implemented. Results We admitted 85 DBI patients (1.3% of all admissions), with a significantly shorter median length of ICU stay than in non-DBI patients, 1.14 versus 2.93 days ( p