Neurocritical care
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Optimizing blood pressure is an important target for intervention following pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI). The existing literature has examined the association between systolic blood pressure (SBP) and outcomes. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) is a better measure of organ perfusion than SBP and is used to determine cerebral perfusion pressure but has not been previously examined in relation to outcomes after pediatric TBI. We aimed to evaluate the strength of association between MAP-based hypotension early after hospital admission and discharge outcome and to contrast the relative strength of association of hypotension with outcome between MAP-based and SBP-based blood pressure percentiles. ⋯ In children with severe TBI, a single MAP < 10th percentile during the first 12 h after Pediatric Intensive Care Unit admission was associated with poor discharge outcome. Lowest MAP percentile during the first 12 h was moderately predictive of poor discharge outcome. Lowest MAP percentile was more strongly associated with outcome than lowest SBP percentile but had slightly lower predictive ability than SBP.
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Despite increasing use in hemorrhagic shock (HS), whole blood (WB) resuscitation for polytrauma with traumatic brain injury (TBI) is largely unexplored. Current TBI guidelines recommend crystalloid for prehospital resuscitation. Although WB outperforms lactated Ringer's (LR) in increasing mean arterial pressure (MAP) in TBI + HS models, effects on brain tissue oxygenation (PbtO2), and optimal MAP remain undefined. ⋯ WB resuscitation after TBI + HS results in robust improvements in brain oxygenation while minimizing fluid volume when compared to standard LR resuscitation. WB resuscitation may allow for a lower prehospital MAP without compromising brain oxygenation when compared to LR resuscitation. Further studies evaluating the effects of these physiologic benefits on outcome after TBI with HS are warranted, to eventually inform clinical trials.
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Several methods have been proposed to measure cerebrovascular autoregulation (CA) in traumatic brain injury (TBI), but the lack of a gold standard and the absence of prospective clinical data on risks, impact on care and outcomes of implementation of CA-guided management lead to uncertainty. ⋯ The Delphi process resulted in 25 consensus statements addressing the pathophysiology of impaired CA, and its impact on cerebral perfusion pressure targets and outcome. A research agenda was proposed emphasizing the need for better validated CA assessment methods as well as the focused investigation of the application of CA-guided management in clinical care using prospective safety, feasibility and efficacy studies.
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Current electroencephalography (EEG) practice relies on interpretation by expert neurologists, which introduces diagnostic and therapeutic delays that can impact patients' clinical outcomes. As EEG practice expands, these experts are becoming increasingly limited resources. A highly sensitive and specific automated seizure detection system would streamline practice and expedite appropriate management for patients with possible nonconvulsive seizures. We aimed to test the performance of a recently FDA-cleared machine learning method (Claritγ, Ceribell Inc.) that measures the burden of seizure activity in real time and generates bedside alerts for possible status epilepticus (SE). ⋯ Ruling out seizures accurately in a large proportion of cases can help prevent unnecessary or aggressive over-treatment in critical care settings, where empiric treatment with antiseizure medications is currently prevalent. Claritγ's high sensitivity for SE and high negative predictive value for cases without epileptiform activity make it a useful tool for triaging treatment and the need for urgent neurological consultation.
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Observational Study
Continuous Monitoring of Cerebral Autoregulation in Children Supported by Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: A Pilot Study.
Cerebral autoregulation (CA) impairment may pose a risk factor for neurological complications among children supported by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Our first objective was to investigate the feasibility of CA continuous monitoring during ECMO treatment and to describe its evolution over time. The second objective was to analyze the association between CA impairment and neurological outcome. ⋯ CA assessment is feasible in pediatric ECMO. The first 24 h following ECMO represents the most critical period regarding CA. Impaired autoregulation is significantly more severe among patients who experience ANE.