Andrew Maas

Emeritus Professor of Neurosurgery, Antwerp University Hospital & University of Antwerp, Belgium

Andrew I.R. Maas is Emeritus Professor of Neurosurgery at the Antwerp University Hospital and University of Antwerp. He holds positions as past Chairman of the Neurotraumatology Committee of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) and the International Neurotrauma Society, and is Co-Chairman of the European Brain Injury Consortium. He has a vast experience as a general neurosurgeon and has specific research interests in Traumatic Brain Injury and neuro-intensive care.

Dr Maas was the Principal Investigator of the IMPACT study group (International Mission on Prognosis and Clinical Trial design in TBI), that was awarded an NIH grant (2003-2011) and resulted in over 55 publications and recommendations for improved trial design. Together with Prof David Menon, University of Cambridge, he coordinated the large scale collaborative project CENTER-TBI: Collaborative European NeuroTrauma Effectiveness Research in TBI (www.center-tbi.eu), supported by the FP7 program of the European Union (Grant no: 602150; duration:2013-2021).

Honors and scientific awards:

• Lifetime Achievement Award International Brain Injury Association (2016)
• Honorary Doctorate Burdenko Institute Moscow (2013-ongoing)
• Collaborative European NeuroTrauma Effectiveness Research in TBI (CENTER TBI) – grant from the  European Commission 7th Framework Programme ( Coordinator Grant no: 602150; duration:2013-2021)
• Individualized Targeted Management in Neurocritical care - Grant of the Flemish Institute for Science  and Technology (2009-2011)
• Clinical Trial Design and Analysis in TBI - NIH-R01 grant (PI Grant no: 042691; 2003-2011)

 
Complete List of Published Work in MyBibliography (>250):
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/1vcNIUc4qtHAV/bibliography/public/
Current H-index: 64

A Systems Approach to TBI

Continuity in the chain of trauma care is particularly relevant to traumatic brain injury (TBI). Second insults (e.g. hypoxia and hypotension) in the pre-hospital setting can aggravate the primary brain damage to an extent that no matter how good in-hospital care may be, outcome will be poor. Conversely, benefits of excellent in-hospital care may be lost if these are not consolidated by appropriate post-acute care. In this presentation, I will present the current picture of TBI care, as observed in the CENTER-TBI study, a large scale observational study conducted in Europe and Israel. Current triage tools are heavily weighted towards patients injured by high-energy mechanisms, and disparities in care exist for older patients injured by falls. Substantial differences in care provision exist between centres, but these do not clearly translate to differences in outcome. Of patients admitted to the ICU, 36% are classified as mild TBI according to the GCS. The outcome after mild TBI is not as good as commonly perceived: We found that around 50% do not recover fully by 6 months after injury. Post-acute care and structured follow-up are often deficient, particularly in patients with mild TBI. The implications of these findings for health care provision will be discussed.

---