Effect of Post-traumatic Amnesia Duration on Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) First Year Hospital Costs: A Veterans Affairs Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems Study

To examine the association between severity of traumatic brain injury (TBI) as measured by duration of post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) and first year hospitalization costs for service members and veterans (SMVs) treated for TBI at Polytrauma Rehabilitation Centers (PRCs) within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Multivariable models of merged datasets from the VA TBI Model Systems (VA TBIMS) national database containing TBI clinical characterization including PTA with VHA hospital cost data. Five VA PRCs. VA TBIMS participants with known PTA who received inpatient rehabilitation within 1 year of their TBI at any of 5 PRCs between 2010 and 2020 (N=717). N/A. Total, acute care, rehabilitation, intensive care unit (ICU), and surgery costs across all VA hospitals. A total of 717 SMVs (mean age 36.9 years, 94.1% men, 76.8% non-Hispanic White, 7.8% active duty) met inclusion criteria for the unadjusted analyses. Unadjusted mean total hospital costs in the first-year post TBI were approximately $201,214 higher for those with PTA duration ≥24 hours ($351,157) than PTA