Evaluation of demographic, clinical characteristics and risk factors in patients with persistent hiccups due to traumatic brain injury: A trauma-ICU based study

Persistent hiccups in neurocritical care patients can lead to negative outcomes, including exhaustion, sleep deprivation, malnutrition, depression, and even death. This study aims to evaluate demographic and clinical characteristics, risk factors, and management in trauma intensive care unit patients. This study investigates persistent hiccups in traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients admitted to the Trauma ICU at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, from July 2020 to January 2024. The study involved monitoring and recording hiccups during patients' ICU stays. Exclusion criteria included not participating, having GERD, advanced cancer, spinal cord injury, other CNS pathologies, deranged liver and renal profile, or on drugs causing hiccups, on sedative and neuro-muscular blocking agents. The study involved 59.8% of patients aged <40 years, with a mean age of 41.75±17.16 years. Most patients were male, with a male-to-female ratio of 1.88:1. Road traffic accidents (RTAs) were present in 60.3% of patients, followed by falls from height (17.5%). 75.7% of patients had severe type TBI, while the remaining had moderate type TBI. Out of 189 patients, 86 (45.5%) died and 103 (54.5%) survived. Age was a significant factor in TBI-related persistent hiccups, with severe TBI significantly associated with female gender and ventilator-associated pneumonia and the need for mechanical ventilation. The type of TBI (moderate or severe) and length of ICU stay were also associated with TBI-related persistent hiccups. A strong relationship was observed between severe TBI patients who fall from height and were not responsive to drugs for hiccups compared to moderate TBI. The length of ICU stay was also associated with TBI-related persistent hiccups, with patients with a length of ICU stay of >14 days having a higher risk of hiccups. Severe TBI is linked to female gender, ventilator-associated pneumonia, and mechanical ventilation. The type of TBI and length of ICU stay are also linked to persistent hiccups. Patients with severe TBI who fell from height are less responsive to hiccup drugs. Patients with over 14 days of ICU stay have a higher risk of developing persistent hiccups.