title: The impact of body mass index on treatment outcomes among traumatic brain injury patients in intensive care units.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Obesity is a risk factor in treatment outcomes of critically ill patients. This study was conducted to determine the impact of obesity on the likelihood of recovery from traumatic brain injury (TBI) in intensive care unit (ICU) patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  We carried out a prospective study on 115 head injury patients who were admitted to the ICU of Poursina Hospital, Rasht, in the one-year period between July 2006 and June 2007. Obese patients (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 30 kg/m(2)) were compared with non-obese patients (BMI < 30 kg/m(2)). Demographic information, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation scores, Injury Severity Scores (ISS), Glasgow Coma Scale scores, and ICU mortality incidences were recorded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Obese patients had significantly higher ICU mortality rates compared to non-obese patients (p = 0.02). Furthermore, we observed a trend towards a higher ICU mortality rate in obese patients with ISS > 25 (p = 0.04). Moreover, obesity was associated with prolonged mechanical ventilation, ICU length of stay (ILOS), and hospital length of stay (HLOS) (p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Obesity was associated with increased ICU mortality and prolonged dependency on mechanical ventilation, ILOS, and HLOS in patients with TBI. However, further prospective studies with larger sample sizes are needed to substantiate these findings.
authors.affiliation: Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran. sh.yousefzadeh@gmail.com.
authors.forename: S Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Chabok
authors.affiliation: Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, College of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA. Hamedyazdanshenas@cdrewu.edu.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yazdanshenas
authors.affiliation: Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran. fadaenaeeni@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: A F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Naeeni
authors.affiliation: Road Trauma Research Center, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran. aziabakhsh@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ziabakhsh
authors.affiliation: Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. s.shabbidar@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Bidar
authors.affiliation: Road Trauma Research Center, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran. atossa73@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Reihanian
authors.affiliation: Charles R. Drew University, College of Medicine, 1731 East 120th Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90059, USA. shahrzadbazargan@cdrewu.edu.|David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, USA. shahrzadbazargan@cdrewu.edu.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bazargan-Hejazi
keywords: Body mass index; Hospital length of stay; ICU; ICU length of stay; Mortality; Obesity; Traumatic brain injury
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