Digitally Enabled Discharge Quality After Neurosurgical Traumatic Brain Injury: A 10-Year Cohort from a Brazilian Public Tertiary Center

<b>Background/Objectives:</b> Safe discharge after neurosurgical traumatic brain injury (TBI) depends on documented counseling and appropriate referrals, yet real-world fidelity is uncertain in resource-constrained settings. We quantified discharge process quality and identified digitally actionable gaps. <b>Methods:</b> The sample for this study was a retrospective cohort of 559 consecutive neurosurgical TBI patients discharged from a Brazilian public tertiary center (2012-2022). Data were abstracted from electronic health records. The primary outcome was documentation of warning sign counseling at discharge. Proportions are reported with exact Clopper-Pearson 95% confidence intervals. <b>Results:</b> The median age was 66 years (IQR 47-79.5); 78.5% were male and most received care under the public health system. Subdural hematoma predominated; hematoma drainage was the most frequent procedure. Warning sign counseling was documented in 16.1% of cases (89/559; 95% CI 13.2-19.5), and no palliative care referrals were recorded. <b>Conclusions:</b> A low baseline for a safety-critical discharge element exposes an immediately actionable target. Embedding discharge order sets with mandatory counseling fields in the EHR, clinical decision support prompts for palliative care screening and follow-up, and QR-coded patient handouts represent a pragmatic path to improve discharge quality and end-of-life readiness in the digital era.

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Journal
Healthcare
Published
2025-12-23
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare14010032
Primary Topic
Traumatic Brain Injury and Neurovascular Disturbances
Type
article
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article

Digitally Enabled Discharge Quality After Neurosurgical Traumatic Brain Injury: A 10-Year Cohort from a Brazilian Public Tertiary Center

Victoria Ragognete Guimarães, Maísa Ribeiro Pereira Lima Brigagão, Carlos Marcelo Barros, Roberto Salvador Souza Guimarães et al.
Healthcare
Traumatic Brain Injury and Neurovascular Disturbances
article

Digitally Enabled Discharge Quality After Neurosurgical Traumatic Brain Injury: A 10-Year Cohort from a Brazilian Public Tertiary Center

Victoria Ragognete Guimarães, Maísa Ribeiro Pereira Lima Brigagão, Carlos Marcelo Barros, Roberto Salvador Souza Guimarães, Francisca Rego
article en

Abstract

<b>Background/Objectives:</b> Safe discharge after neurosurgical traumatic brain injury (TBI) depends on documented counseling and appropriate referrals, yet real-world fidelity is uncertain in resource-constrained settings. We quantified discharge process quality and identified digitally actionable gaps. <b>Methods:</b> The sample for this study was a retrospective cohort of 559 consecutive neurosurgical TBI patients discharged from a Brazilian public tertiary center (2012-2022). Data were abstracted from electronic health records. The primary outcome was documentation of warning sign counseling at discharge. Proportions are reported with exact Clopper-Pearson 95% confidence intervals. <b>Results:</b> The median age was 66 years (IQR 47-79.5); 78.5% were male and most received care under the public health system. Subdural hematoma predominated; hematoma drainage was the most frequent procedure. Warning sign counseling was documented in 16.1% of cases (89/559; 95% CI 13.2-19.5), and no palliative care referrals were recorded. <b>Conclusions:</b> A low baseline for a safety-critical discharge element exposes an immediately actionable target. Embedding discharge order sets with mandatory counseling fields in the EHR, clinical decision support prompts for palliative care screening and follow-up, and QR-coded patient handouts represent a pragmatic path to improve discharge quality and end-of-life readiness in the digital era.

HealthcareVol. 14(1)
Universidade do Porto (PT), Universidade Federal de Alfenas (BR), Universidade José do Rosário Vellano (BR)
Openalex Percentile: Top 32%
Traumatic Brain Injury and Neurovascular Disturbances
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