Quality of life of victims of traumatic brain injuries undergoing neurosurgery

Abstract

Background: The improvements occurred in trauma care reflected in the increase of survivors of traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, the deficiencies and disabilities have not reduced. The quality of life (QOL) has been recognized as an essential result to quantify the subjective burden of TBI in survivors. Objective: To assess the QOL of TBI victims undergoing neurosurgeries in a hospital of reference. Methodology: A cross-sectional study conducted with 116 TBI victims treated in a neurosurgery outpatient clinic. The data were obtained from medical records and using the application of the questionnaire World Health Organization Quality of Life – Bref. Results: The QOL of participants was above the average (60.02). The lowest mean was the physical domain (42.33). People who studied and/or worked obtained higher scores for the physical (p = 0.027) and psychological (p = 0.052) domains. Conclusion: Living with someone, studying, and working are factors that interfere with the perception of a better QOL. The elderly showed a tendency to a worse assessment of post-trauma-related QOL.