Hyperoxemia and long-term outcome after traumatic brain injury

The relationship between hyperoxemia and outcome in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) is controversial. We sought to investigate the independent relationship between hyperoxemia and long-term mortality in patients with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury. The Finnish Intensive Care Consortium database was screened for mechanically ventilated patients with a moderate-to-severe TBI. Patients were categorized, according to the highest measured alveolar-arterial O₂ gradient or the lowest measured PaO₂ value during the first 24 hours of ICU admission, to hypoxemia (13.3 kPa). We adjusted for markers of illness severity to evaluate the independent relationship between hyperoxemia and 6-month mortality. A total of 1,116 patients were included in the study, of which 16% (n = 174) were hypoxemic, 51% (n = 567) normoxemic and 33% (n = 375) hyperoxemic. The total 6-month mortality was 39% (n = 435). A significant association between hyperoxemia and a decreased risk of mortality was found in univariate analysis (P = 0.012). However, after adjusting for markers of illness severity in a multivariate logistic regression model hyperoxemia showed no independent relationship with 6-month mortality (hyperoxemia vs. normoxemia OR 0.88, 95% CI 0. 63 to 1.22, P = 0.43; hyperoxemia vs. hypoxemia OR 0.97, 95% CI 0.63 to 1.50, P = 0.90). Hyperoxemia in the first 24 hours of ICU admission after a moderate-to-severe TBI is not predictive of 6-month mortality.