"glasgow coma scale"[TI]

OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence and success rate of out-of-hospital tracheal intubation (TI) and ventilation of children, taking account of the type of healthcare provider involved. METHODS: A prospective observational study to analyse a consecutive group of children for which a helicopter-transported medical team (HMT) was called. In all cases, the emergency medical service (EMS)-paramedics arrived at the scene first. Data regarding type of incident, physiological parameters, treatment, and survival until hospital discharge were collected and subsequently analysed...

INTRODUCTION: Some studies have demonstrated an increased risk of death for patients admitted at nights or during weekends. This study was undertaken to investigate the demographic profile, medical interventions and outcome of severe head injury patients stratified according to day and time of admission to a specialised neurosciences intensive care unit (NICU). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study using a prospectively maintained severe head injury database in a tertiary hospital...

OBJECT: This study addresses the changes in brain oxygenation, cerebrovascular reactivity, and cerebral neurochemistry in patients following decompressive craniectomy for the control of elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) after severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). METHODS: Sixteen consecutive patients with isolated TBI and elevated ICP, who were refractory to maximal medical therapy, underwent decompressive craniectomy over a 1-year period. Thirteen patients were male and 3 were female...

We report the case of a young patient with post-traumatic, intractable, intracranial hypertension leading to craniectomy. This intracranial hypertension was preceded by focal signs of ischemia diagnosed through P(ti)O2 monitoring and cerebral microdialysis, and occurred a few hours prior to a decrease in cerebral perfusion pressure below 60 mmHg. The neurological outcome was satisfactory with a Glasgow Outcome Scale of 4 at 3 months. We discuss the potential interest of such neuro-monitoring to determine the optimal time for performing a craniectomy...

OBJECT: This study was designed to elucidate the pattern of expression of poly(adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase (PARP) in human pericontusional brain tissue and to correlate these findings with commonly used clinical parameters. METHODS: The expression of PARP was ascertained using immunohistochemical studies in eight specimens of human pericontusional brain tissue obtained when the patients underwent craniotomy for mass effect. The following demographic and clinical parameters were also analyzed for each patient: age, sex, postresuscitation Glasgow Coma Scale score (GCS), computerized tomography findings, intracranial pressure (ICP) recordings during the first 24 hours postsurgery, and the time interval from injury to surgery...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of a brain tissue oxygen (P(ti)O(2)) guided treatment in patients with traumatic brain injury. METHODS: P(ti)O(2) was monitored in 93 patients with severe traumatic brain injury. Forty patients admitted from 1993 to 1996 were treated with intracranial pressure/cerebral perfusion pressure (ICP/CPP) management alone (ICP < 20 mm Hg, CPP > 70 mm Hg). Fifty three patients admitted from 1997 to 2000 were treated using ICP/CPP management, but in this second group CPP was also increased as individually required to raise the P(ti)O(2) above 1...

Brain tissue oxygen monitoring (P(ti)O2 (Neurotrend, Codman, Germany) was employed in addition to standard intracranial pressure (ICP) and cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) monitoring in seven patients with severe neuronal damage of heterogeneous etiology. The correlation between P(ti)O2 changes and CPP fluctuations during periods of 30 minutes were analyzed, when CPP was above 70 mmHg and lower than 100 mmHg. A new ratio, the CPP-oxygen-reactivity (COR) index was calculated as COR=delta p(ti)O2 %/delta CPP%...

OBJECTIVES: (1) To establish the feasibility of myotatic reflex measurement in patients with head injury. (2) To test the hypothesis that cerebral dysfunction after head injury causes myotatic reflex abnormalities through disordered descending control. These objectives arise from a proposal to use reflex measurements in monitoring patients with head injury. METHODS: The phasic stretch reflex of biceps brachii was elicited by a servo-positioned tendon hammer. Antagonist inhibition was evoked by vibration to the triceps...

OBJECTIVE: We assessed the technical and diagnostic reliability of partial pressure of oxygen (PO2) of brain tissue (P(ti)O2) monitoring. The monitoring system and the catheter probes were tested in vitro, and clinical experiences obtained with 118 brain P(ti)O2 catheter probes, used in 101 patients, are reported. METHODS: The polarographic (LICOX; Medical Systems Corp., Greenvale, NY) P(ti)O2 catheter probe lies 22 to 27 mm below the dura level; its PO2-sensitive surface is 7...

Fifty-five head injured patients (GCS < 8) were studied at an average of 7.5 +/- 3.4 days on the ICU to check quality of hemodynamic monitoring and the consequences for therapy. Multimodal neuromonitoring included intracranial pressure (ICP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP), endtidal CO2 (EtCO2) as well as brain tissue--pO2 (p(ti)O2), regional oxygen (rSO2) and jugular venous oxygen saturation (SjO2). Regional p(ti)O2 as well as global SjO2 were sensitive technologies to detect hemodynamic changes...

Secondary ischemic events worsen the outcome of patients with severe head injury. Such a secondary ischemic event may be caused by a forced hyperventilation. A consequence of the induced vasoconstriction is the risk of ischemia with an adverse effect on outcome. As a reliable and on-line technique, brain tissue pO2 (p(ti)O2) is used for monitoring regional microcirculation, to detect critical hypoperfusion. On 22 patients with a severe head injury 70 hyperventilation tests were performed from day 0-9 after trauma, calculating TCD-CO2-reactivity (% change of mean flow velocity per mm Hg paCO2 change)...

Traumatic hemorrhage in the ambient cistern is thought to be an indirect indication of brain stem injury. In many cases such brain stem lesions cannot be clearly demonstrated by conventional CT scans. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides a more sophisticated display of the brain stem with improved contrast resolution of structures not appreciated on CT. We present four patients with traumatic ambient cistern hematoma on CT. They showed consciousness disturbance at the initial neurological examination and a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) of 7-10...