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Critical Care Medicine www.ccmjournal.org 1
Objectives: To assess the clinical outcomes, predictors, and
prevalence of anterior pituitary disorders following traumatic brain
injury.
Data Sources: We searched Medline, Embase, Cochrane Regis-
try, BIOSIS, and Trip Database up to February 2012 and con-
sulted bibliographies of narrative reviews and selected articles.
Study Selection: We included cohort, case-control, cross-sectional
studies and randomized trials enrolling at least five adults with blunt
traumatic brain injury in whom at least one anterior pituitary axis was
assessed. We excluded case series and studies in which other neu-
rological conditions were indistinguishable from traumatic brain injury.
Data Extraction: Two independent reviewers selected citations,
extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias using a standard-
ized form.
Data Synthesis: We performed meta-analyses using random
effect models and assessed heterogeneity using the I
2
index.
Results: We included 66 studies (5,386 patients) evaluating
prevalence, 14 evaluating clinical outcomes, and 27 evaluating
predictors. Thirty studies were at low risk of bias. Anterior pitu-
itary disorders were associated with a trend toward increased
ICU mortality (risk ratio, 1.79; 95% CI, 0.99–3.21; four studies)
and no difference in Glasgow Outcome Scale score (mean differ-
ence, –0.45; 95% CI, –1.10 to 0.20; three studies). Age (mean
difference, 3.19; 95% CI, 0.31–6.08; 19 studies), traumatic brain
injury severity (risk ratio, 2.15; 95% CI, 1.20–3.86 for patients
with severe vs nonsevere traumatic brain injury; seven studies),
and skull fractures (risk ratio, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.03–2.91; six stud-
ies) predicted anterior pituitary disorders. Over the long term,
31.6% (95% CI, 23.6–40.1%; 27 studies) of patients had at least
one anterior pituitary disorder. We observed significant heteroge-
neity that was not solely explained by the risk of bias or traumatic
brain injury severity.
Conclusions: Approximately one third of traumatic brain injury
patients have persistent anterior pituitary disorder. Older age,
traumatic brain injury severity, and skull fractures predict anterior
pituitary disorders, which in turn may be associated with higher
ICU mortality. Further high-quality studies are warranted to better
1
Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec, Santé des Populations et
Pratiques Optimales en Santé, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada.
2
Division of Critical Care, Department of Anesthesiology, Université Laval,
Québec, QC, Canada.
3
Department of Medicine, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada.
4
Department of Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine, Université
Laval, Québec, QC, Canada.
5
Centre de recherche du CSSS Alphonse-Desjardins (CHAU de Lévis),
Lévis, QC, Canada.
6
Centre de Recherche Clinique Étienne-Le Bel, Université de Sherbrooke,
Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.
7
Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Université Laval, Québec,
QC, Canada.
8
Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal Research Center, Department of
Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.
9
Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal Research Center, Department of
Critical Care Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.
10
Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec, Endocrinology and Nephrol-
ogy, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada.
11
Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
12
Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster Uni-
versity, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Supplemental digital content is available for this article. Direct URL cita-
tions appear in the printed text and are provided in the HTML and PDF
versions of this article on the journal’s website (http://journals.lww.com/
ccmjournal).
This study was supported by the Consortium pour le développement de
la recherche en traumatologie and the Fonds de la recherche du Québec-
Santé. Drs. Lauzier, Turgeon, Archambault, and Lamontagne are recipients
of a Research Career Award from the Fonds de la recherche du Québec-
Santé. Ms. Boutin holds a Doctoral Research Award. Dr. Archambault
served as a board member for the Association des médecins d’urgence
du Québec, is employed by the Université Laval, received grant support
from the Fonds de recherche en Santé Qué bec (career award), and lec-
tured for Queen’s University and Centre de santé et services sociaux de
Saguenay. Dr. Moore holds a New Investigator Award from the Canadian
Institutes of Health Research. Dr. Cook is a Research Chair of the Cana-
dian Institutes of Health Research. The remaining authors have disclosed
that they do not have any potential conflicts of interest.
For information regarding this article, E-mail: francois.lauzier@med.ulaval.ca
Copyright © 2013 by the Society of Critical Care Medicine and Lippincott
Williams & Wilkins
DOI: 10.1097CCM.0000000000000046
Clinical Outcomes, Predictors, and Prevalence of
Anterior Pituitary Disorders Following Traumatic
Brain Injury: A Systematic Review
François Lauzier, MD, MSc
1,2,3
; Alexis F. Turgeon, MD, MSc
1,2
; Amélie Boutin, MSc
1
;
Michèle Shemilt, BSc
1
; Isabelle Côté, MD
1,3
; Olivier Lachance
1
; Patrick M. Archambault, MD, MSc
1,2,4,5
;
François Lamontagne, MD, MSc
6
; Lynne Moore, PhD
1,7
; Francis Bernard, MD
8,9
;
Claudia Gagnon, MD
3,10
; Deborah Cook, MD, MSc
11,12