Blood Glucose Level as a Predictor of Abnormal Brain Computed Tomography Scan Findings in Patients with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to investigate blood glucose levels in patients with brain injury caused by mildtraumatic brain injury (TBI) as a foundation for determining whether these patients need a brain CT scan ornot.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on patients with mild TBI, who were referred to theemergency department from March 1, 2022, to September 1, 2022. After the confirmation of mild TBI by anemergency medicine specialist, blood samples were taken from the patients to measure blood glucose levels.Then a brain CT scan was performed, and blood glucose levels were compared between patients with andwithout CT indications of brain injury. A checklist was used to collect data, and the data were analyzed usingSPSS software (version 23).Results: In the CT scans of the 157 patients included in the study, 30 patients (19.2%) had a brain injury inthe CT scan. The mean blood glucose level was significantly higher in patients with brain injury, especially inthe presence of vertigo and ataxia, than patients without brain injury in the CT scan (p<0.0001). There was asignificant positive correlation between age and blood glucose level (r=0.315, p<0.0001).Conclusion: Patients with mild TBI who had signs of brain injury in the CT scan had significantly higher bloodglucose levels than patients with normal CT scan findings. Although indications for performing a brain CTscan are usually based on clinical criteria, blood glucose levels can be helpful in determining the requirementfor a brain CT scan in patients with mild TBI.

Keywords

• blood glucose
• emergency department
• glasgow coma scale
• brain injury