Neurocritical care
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The status of autoregulation is an important prognostic factor in traumatic brain injury (TBI), and is important to consider in the management of TBI patients. Pressure reactivity index (PRx) is a measure of autoregulation that has been thoroughly studied, but little is known about its variation in different subtypes of TBI. In this study, we examined the impact of PRx and cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) on outcome in different TBI subtypes. ⋯ TBI patients with diffuse injury may differ from those with mass lesions. In the latter higher levels of CPP may be harmful, possibly due to BBB disruption. In TBI patients with diffuse injury and disturbed autoregulation higher levels of CPP may be beneficial.
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Sedation and therapeutic hypothermia (TH) delay neurological responses and might reduce the accuracy of clinical examination to predict outcome after cardiac arrest (CA). We examined the accuracy of quantitative pupillary light reactivity (PLR), using an automated infrared pupillometry, to predict outcome of post-CA coma in comparison to standard PLR, EEG, and somato-sensory evoked potentials (SSEP). ⋯ Quantitative PLR is more accurate than standard PLR in predicting outcome of post-anoxic coma, irrespective of temperature and sedation, and has comparable prognostic accuracy than EEG and SSEP.
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Case Reports
Neurologist Versus Machine: Is the Pupillometer Better than the Naked Eye in Detecting Pupillary Reactivity.
A 62-year-old man with severe traumatic brain injury developed postsurgical anisocoria in which there was a discrepancy between pupillometer and manual testing. ⋯ While pupillometry assessment is a valuable adjunct to the manual pupillary assessment, this case demonstrates that nonreactive pupils read on the pupillometer should be confirmed with the manual examination because it can miss very slowly reacting pupils.
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Increased intracranial pressure (ICP) is associated with worse outcomes following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Studies have confirmed that ICP is correlated with optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) on ultrasound. The aim of our study was to assess the independent relationship between ONSD measured using CT and mortality in a population of patients admitted with severe TBI. ⋯ In patients with TBI, ONSD measured on CT scanning was independently associated with ICP and mortality.
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Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is common following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), but the influence of mechanical ventilator settings on its development is unclear. We sought to determine adherence to lung protective thresholds in ventilated patients with SAH and describe the association between ventilator settings and subsequent development of ARDS. ⋯ Patients with SAH requiring mechanical ventilation frequently breathe spontaneously, generating tidal volumes above usual protective thresholds regardless of meeting ARDS criteria. In patients with SAH, the presence of an additional ARDS risk factor should prompt close screening for the development of ARDS and consideration of adjustment of ventilator settings to meet lung protective thresholds.