Assessing the economic burden of TBI - a proposed strategy and preliminary results

Global collaborations( Global Parallel session), Lehar 3, October 7, 2025, 5:20 PM - 6:50 PM Traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality across the globe. There has been a significant push towards improving the care delivered to the patients suffering from TBI – improving pre-hospital care, rapid transfer to a neurosurgical unit, TBI directed management, and rehabilitation. The economic burden managing a patient with TBI (with or without extra-cranial injuries) often are unknown due to the different phases of care and the prolonged treatment duration from the time of presentation to discharge. In this study, the authors aimed to develop a questionnaire that would allow assessment of the economic burden of TBI in each location. Methods University Teaching Hospital (UTH), Lusaka, Zambia was identified to understand the economic burden of managing a TBI. As it is the main tertiary centre for all neurosurgical referrals, it was chosen as the centre for assessment of the TBI burden. Multiple discussions were carried out to prepare a questionnaire for collection of data from time of presentation to UTH and first outpatient follow up. This project was carried out with collaboration between Global Surgery Policy Unit, London school of Economics and University of Cambridge NIHR group. Results Since 2011 to 2021, a registry of all patients with TBI was created in Singapore. A detailed analysis of the costs incurred from time of presentation to the time of discharge will be carried out based on the interventions and procedures. A similar registry was set up on ORION platform for analysis of patients with TBI that presented at UTH. Conclusions Understanding the economic burden of TBI is important to highlight the impact of the disease in any country. By following the processes outlined in this project, we can provide an insight into the costs incurred in managing a patient with TBI.