Traumatic brain injury in pregnancy: A systematic review of epidemiology, management, and outcome

OBJECTIVE: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) during pregnancy is an extremely rare condition in our neurosurgical emergency practices. Studies on the epidemiology and management of TBI in pregnancy are limited to case reports or serial case reports. There is no specific guidelines of management of TBI in pregnancy yet. METHODS: The authors performed a structured search of all published articles on TBI in pregnancy from 1990 to 2020. We restricted search for papers in English and Bahasa. RESULTS: The literature search yielded 22 articles with total 43 patients. We distinguished C-section based on its timing according to the neurosurgical treatment into primary (simultaneous or prior to neurosurgery) and secondary group (delayed C-section). The mean GOS value in primary C-section is better compared to secondary C-section in severe TBI group (3.57 ± 1.47 vs 3.0 ± 1.27, respectively) consistently in the moderate TBI group (4.33 ± 1.11 vs 3.62 ± 1.47, respectively). The fetal death rate in primary C-section is lower compared to secondary C-section in severe TBI group (14.2 % vs 33.3 %, respectively), contrary, in moderate TBI group (16.7 % vs 12.5 %, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Care of pregnant patients with TBI often requires multidisciplinary approach to optimize treatment strategy on a case-by-case basis in light of prior experience across different center. We propose management guideline for head injury in pregnancy.