Wiener klinische Wochenschrift
-
Wien. Klin. Wochenschr. · Feb 2007
Multicenter StudySevere traumatic brain injury in Austria I: introduction to the study.
The goals of the Austrian Severe Traumatic Brain Injury Study were to investigate the current management of patients with severe traumatic brain injury in Austria and to assess the effects of introducing guidelines for the management of severe traumatic brain injury upon the outcome of these patients. The purpose of this paper is to give a detailed description of the goals, methods, and overall results of the study, and to provide an introduction to a series of papers where the results of the study will be presented and discussed. ⋯ This study proved that an internet-based database may be a valuable tool for prospective multicenter studies if many variables have to be collected for a high number of patients. The results of our study provide enough evidence to initiate further research on many aspects of the management of traumatic brain injury patients.
-
Wien. Klin. Wochenschr. · Feb 2007
Multicenter StudySevere traumatic brain injury in Austria II: epidemiology of hospital admissions.
The goal of this paper is to describe the hospital-based epidemiology of severe TBI in Austria. ⋯ Epidemiology of severe traumatic brain injuries in Austria is not much different from other industrialized countries. Traffic accidents are responsible for the majority of traumas, stressing the importance of road injury prevention. Attention should also be paid to the specific risks of older people and to prevent injuries at home.
-
Wien. Klin. Wochenschr. · Feb 2007
Multicenter StudySevere traumatic brain injury in Austria III: prehospital status and treatment.
The goal of this paper is to describe prehospital status and treatment of patients with severe TBI in Austria. ⋯ Age, ISS, and initial neuro status are the factors most closely associated with outcome. Hypotension must be avoided. Fluids should be given to restore and/or maintain SBP > 110 mm Hg. Helicopter transport should be arranged for more seriously injured patients.
-
Wien. Klin. Wochenschr. · Feb 2007
"Oldest old" patients in intensive care: prognosis and therapeutic activity.
In view of ethical considerations and the limited resources in intensive care medicine, the present investigation aims to give a descriptive overview of the prognosis and therapeutic activity for the oldest age group of elderly patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) in comparison with younger ICU patients. ⋯ Within the very elderly population, age is an important and independent predictor of mortality, but acute severity of illness is even more strongly associated with mortality. Consequently, age alone may be an inappropriate criterion for allocation of ICU resources.