Temporal Delays in the Management of Traumatic Brain Injury: A Comparative Meta-Analysis of Global Literature

Objective: A meta-analysis was conducted to compare: 1) time from traumatic brain injury (TBI) to the hospital, and 2) time within the hospital to intervention or surgery, by country-level income, World Health Organization region, and healthcare payment system. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted and followed by a meta-analysis comparing duration of delays (prehospital and intrahospital) in TBI management. Means and standard deviations were pooled using a random effects model and subgroup analysis was performed using R software. Results: Our analysis comprised 95,554 TBI patients from 45 countries. By Country-Level Income: From 23 low- and middle-income countries, a longer mean time from injury to surgery (862.53 minutes, confidence interval [CI]: 107.42–1617.63), prehospital (217.46 minutes, CI: −27.34–462.25), and intrahospital (166.36 minutes, 95% CI: 96.12–236.60) durations were found compared to 22 high-income countries. By WHO Region: African Region had the greatest total (1062.3 minutes, CI: −1072.23–3196.62), prehospital (256.57 minutes [CI: −202.36–715.51]), and intrahospital durations (593.22 minutes, CI: −3546.45–4732.89). By Healthcare Payment System: Multiple-Payer Health Systems had a greater prehospital duration (132.62 minutes, CI: 54.55–210.68) but greater intrahospital delays were found in Single-Payer Health Systems (309.37 minutes, CI: −21.95–640.69). Conclusion: Our study concludes that TBI patients in low- and middle-income countries within African Region countries face prolonged delays in both prehospital and intrahospital management compared to high-income countries. Additionally, patients within Single-Payer Health System experienced prolonged intrahospital delays. An urgent need to address global disparities in neurotrauma care has been highlighted.