Effects of preexisting stroke on acute hospital outcomes for older adults admitted with neurotrauma and orthopedic injury

Objective: We aimed to examine acute trauma outcomes, specifically among those with neurotrauma (NT), in patients with preexisting cerebrovascular accident (CVA). Methods: We identified patients treated for neurotrauma or orthopedic trauma at hospitals in Pennsylvania with and without an identified history of stroke with residual deficits, aged 50–99 across four groups of N = 11,648 each. We assessed mortality, craniotomy, and total hospital, ICU, step-down, and ventilator days, functional status at discharge (FSD), and discharge destination. Results: Stroke history did not influence mortality but was predictive of patients undergoing craniotomy (OR = 1.25, p = 0.008). There was a moderate group effect on total ICU days, with the CVA+NT group in the ICU the longest (η2 = 0.10, p < 0.001). Patients with stroke history were less likely to be discharged to home (OR = 0.65, p < 0.001) and had poorer FSD scores across the various domains assessed. Conclusions: Trauma patients with preexisting CVA were found to have poorer outcomes on a number of different metrics when compared to those without stroke history. While it is possible that functional differences pre-injury influenced FSD and discharge destination, given these results, clinicians should assess for possible comorbidities that may influence treatment.