Eye-tracking can offer a novel clinical practice and a non-invasive tool to detect neuropathological syndromes. In this paper, we show some analysis on data obtained from the visual sequential search test. Indeed, such a test can be used to evaluate the capacity of looking at objects in a specific order, and its successful execution requires the optimization of the perceptual resources of foveal and extrafoveal vision. The main objective of this work is to detect if some patterns can be found within the data, to discern among people with chronic pain, extrapyramidal patients and healthy controls. We employed statistical tests to evaluate differences among groups, considering three novel indicators: blinking rate, average blinking duration and maximum pupil size variation. Additionally, to divide the three patient groups based on scan-path images—which appear very noisy and all similar to each other—we applied deep learning techniques to embed them into a larger transformed space. We then applied a clustering approach to correctly detect and classify the three cohorts. Preliminary experiments show promising results.

Introduction: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of morbidity worldwide, with the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) serving as a tool to measure injury severity. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between GCS admission scores and various socio-demographic, clinical, injury-related, and hospital-related variables in patients with TBI across two tertiary care centers in Eastern Europe, a region that remains underrepresented in the literature. Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted using data from 119 TBI patients admitted between March 2020 and June 2023 at Cluj County Emergency Hospital (Romania) and Saint Vincent Hospital (Poland). GCS scores were analyzed as both categorical and continuous variables. Statistical analyses included Wilcoxon and Kruskal–Wallis tests for group comparisons and Spearman correlations for continuous variables. Results: Most patients included suffered a mild TBI (GCS score between 13 and 15). There were significant associations between GCS scores and post-traumatic amnesia (p < 0.05), discharge status (p < 0.01), discharge destination (p < 0.01), and education level (p < 0.01). GCS scores at admission were linked to survival, absence of post-traumatic amnesia, higher education levels, and home discharge. No significant differences observed across sex, residence, employment status, injury type, cause, or mechanism of injury. A weak but significant negative correlation was observed between GCS and length of hospital stay (rho = −0.229, p > 0.05), while age showed a non-significant correlation. Conclusions: The GCS score at admission is significantly associated with various clinical and socio-demographic outcomes in TBI patients, supporting the utility of the GCS score as a prognostic tool. The predominance of mild cases and the absence of radiological data, such as cerebral contusions or epidural or subdural hematomas, limit the generalizability of the findings. Further studies with larger samples and comprehensive imaging data are necessary to validate these findings.

Introduction: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) represents one of the leading health concerns worldwide, and it is associated with high morbidity, mortality, and substantial healthcare costs. This study aimed to assess inpatient cost determinant factors among TBI patients admitted to an Eastern European hospital, Cluj County Emergency Hospital, Romania, in 2022. Methods: A retrospective observational analysis was conducted on 90 TBI patients. Data on demographic factors, clinical variables, injury characteristics, and inpatient hospital costs were collected. Inpatient total cost differences considering categorical variables were analyzed using Wilcoxon and Kruskal–Wallis tests, and correlations of inpatient total costs with other continuous variables were analyzed using Spearman correlations. Results: Most patients were male (67.8%), urban residents (67.8%), retired (64.4%), and had a mild TBI (96.7%), and the main listed cause was falls (74.4%). The average inpatient cost was EUR 1115.79. There were no statistically significant differences for costs in TBI severity, PTA, or comorbidities. Inpatient costs were correlated with hospital length of stay (ρ = 0.979, 95% CI rho: 0.969 and 986, p < 0.001). While higher costs were seen in patients with PTA, more comorbidities, severe Marshall Scores, or return-to-work status, these differences were not statistically significant. Conclusions: Further research with larger, multicenter cohorts is needed to better understand the cost structure of TBI care and to inform policy decisions that are aimed at resource allocation and cost efficiency.