Favorable Functional Recovery in Severe Traumatic Brain Injury Survivors beyond Six Months

Favorable long-term functional outcomes after severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) may be underestimated. We analyzed 24-month functional outcomes from a consecutive series of severe TBI survivors. A prospective, observational database of severe TBI survivors from a single institution was analyzed. Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended (GOS-E) scores were obtained at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months post-injury. GOS-E scores were dichotomized into unfavorable and favorable outcomes, and the proportion of survivors changing from unfavorable to favorable outcomes was calculated using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Surviving adults ( = 304; mean age ± standard deviation = 35.06 ± 15.11; 80.92% male; mode of initial GCS = 7) were analyzed. A statistically significant mean increase in GOS-E was noted from 3 to 6, 6 to 12, 12 to 24, and 6 to 24 months after injury (0.65 [