Early Beta-Blocker Utilization in Critically Ill Patients With Moderate-Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Background: There is limited evidence that beta-blockers may provide benefit for patients with moderate-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) during the acute injury period. Larger studies on utilization patterns and impact on outcomes in clinical practice are lacking.

Objective: The present study uses a large, national hospital claims-based dataset to examine early beta-blocker utilization patterns and its association with clinical outcomes among critically ill patients with moderate-severe TBI.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of the administrative claims Premier Healthcare Database of adults (≥17 years) with moderate-severe TBI admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) from 2016 to 2020. The exposure was receipt of a beta-blocker during day 1 or 2 of ICU stay (BB⁺). The primary outcome was hospital mortality, and secondary outcomes were: hospital length of stay (LOS), ICU LOS, discharge to home, and vasopressor utilization. In a sensitivity analysis, we explored the association of beta-blocker class (cardioselective and noncardioselective) with hospital mortality. We used propensity weighting methods to address possible confounding by treatment indication.

Results: A total of 109 665 participants met inclusion criteria and 39% (n = 42 489) were exposed to beta-blockers during the first 2 days of hospitalization. Of those, 42% received cardioselective only, 43% received noncardioselective only, and 14% received both. After adjustment, there was no association with hospital mortality in the BB⁺ group compared to the BB^- group (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 0.99, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.94, 1.04). The BB⁺ group had longer hospital stays, lower chance of discharged home, and lower risk of vasopressor utilization, although these difference were clinically small. Beta-blocker class was not associated with hospital mortality.

Conclusion: In this retrospective cohort study, we found variation in use of beta-blockers and early exposure was not associated with hospital mortality. Further research is necessary to understand the optimal type, dose, and timing of beta-blockers for this population.