Epidemiology, clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with severe traumatic brain injury treated…

ObservationalThe New Zealand medical journal· Jul 2026

Epidemiology, clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with severe traumatic brain injury treated by emergency medical services in New Zealand: a retrospective observational study.

Ben Jones, Bridget Dicker, Graham Howie … Verity Todd

Prehospital & RetrievalObservationalQ3IF 0.8

37.8% of patients with severe traumatic brain injury died within 30 days

Epidemiology, clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with severe traumatic brain injury treated by emergency medical services in New Zealand: a retrospective observational study.

Ben Jones … Verity Todd

The New Zealand medical journal · Jul 2026 · Q3 in General Medicine

Background

Included describing demographics, event and clinical characteristics, estimating national incidence, and 30-day mortality.

Purpose

This study aimed to characterise the epidemiology, clinical features and outcomes of adults with severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI) managed by emergency medical services (emergency medical services) in New Zealand.

Methods

Aged ≥16 years with head injury and a Glasgow Coma Scale score ≤8 were included.

n = 430,

37.8%

Results

37.8%

About 4 in 10 emergency medical services-attended severe traumatic brain injury patients died within 30 days.

n = 430,

More results

Emergency medical services attended 630 sTBI patients over 3 years; most were male (n=430, 68.3%) and of European/Other ethnicity (n=398, 63.2%). sTBI incidence was higher among Māori than non-Māori (44.5-68.7 versus 28.6-35.6 per 100,000 person-years).

More results

Younger adults (≤45 years) had the highest rates. sTBIs in urban areas (n=485, 77%) and the most deprived quintile (n=213, 33.8%) were over-represented.

Falls (n=217, 34.4%) and road traffic incidents (n=196, 31.0%) were the leading mechanisms.

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Conclusion · 1 of 2

Emergency medical services working diagnoses of sTBI provide a valuable perspective on patient needs at the point of injury, capturing cases that may be missed in hospital-based datasets yet still influence transport decisions, destination selection and tertiary healthcare capacity.

Conclusion · 2 of 2

The data indicate that sTBI disproportionately affects Māori, younger adults, individuals living in socio-economically deprived areas and urban populations, highlighting health inequities and the need for targeted interventions, informed service planning and further research.

Epidemiology, clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with severe traumatic brain injury treated by emergency medical services in New Zealand: a retrospective observational study.

Epidemiology, clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with severe traumatic brain injury treated by emergency medical services in New Zealand: a retrospective observational study.

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