Articles: traumatic-brain-injuries.
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Review Meta Analysis
Timing of extremity fracture fixation in patients with traumatic brain injury: A meta-analysis of prognosis.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common public health problem. The optimal timing of fracture fixation in patients with TBI has remained controversial. We conducted a meta-analysis to quantitatively discuss the effects of fixation timing on the prognosis of patients with extremity fracture and concomitant TBI. ⋯ Late fracture fixation conducted >14 days after injury was associated with nonunion or malunion. Fixation performed within 24 hours did not influence mortality or adverse neurologic events.
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Meta Analysis
Decompressive craniectomy for patients with traumatic brain injury: a pooled analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Decompressive hemicraniectomy (DHC) is widely applied for patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Although previous studies have indicated that DHC can lead to similar or worse outcomes compared with medical treatment (MT) in patients with TBI, recent trials have suggested the benefit of DHC for neurologic function recovery. Therefore, we performed this meta-analysis to assess the efficacy and functional outcomes of DHC in patients with TBI. ⋯ Our results indicate that DHC could be effective in reducing the mortality rate, incidence of ICP, and hospital length of stay in patients with TBI. However, the proportion of patients surviving with unfavorable outcomes was significantly higher in the DHC group compared with the MT group. Despite the limitations of the meta-analysis, our findings target extremely important topic and provide important evidence to facilitate clinical decision making.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Dec 2019
Meta AnalysisDecompressive craniectomy for the treatment of high intracranial pressure in closed traumatic brain injury.
High intracranial pressure (ICP) is the most frequent cause of death and disability after severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). It is usually treated with general maneuvers (normothermia, sedation, etc.) and a set of first-line therapeutic measures (moderate hypocapnia, mannitol, etc.). When these measures fail, second-line therapies are initiated, which include: barbiturates, hyperventilation, moderate hypothermia, or removal of a variable amount of skull bone (secondary decompressive craniectomy). ⋯ Decompressive craniectomy holds promise of reduced mortality, but the effects of long-term neurological outcome remain controversial, and involve an examination of the priorities of participants and their families. Future research should focus on identifying clinical and neuroimaging characteristics to identify those patients who would survive with an acceptable quality of life; the best timing for DC; the most appropriate surgical techniques; and whether some synergistic treatments used with DC might improve patient outcomes.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Dec 2019
Meta AnalysisHypertonic saline versus other intracranial pressure-lowering agents for people with acute traumatic brain injury.
Increased intracranial pressure (ICP) has been shown to be strongly associated with poor neurological outcomes and mortality for patients with acute traumatic brain injury (TBI). Currently, most efforts to treat these injuries focus on controlling the ICP. Hypertonic saline (HTS) is a hyperosmolar therapy that is used in traumatic brain injury to reduce intracranial pressure. The effectiveness of HTS compared with other ICP-lowering agents in the management of acute TBI is still debated, both in the short and the long term. ⋯ This review set out to find trials comparing HTS to a potential range of other ICP-lowering agents, but only identified trials comparing it with mannitol or mannitol in combination with glycerol. Based on limited data, there is weak evidence to suggest that HTS is no better than mannitol in efficacy and safety in the long-term management of acute TBI. Future research should be comprised of large, multi-site trials, prospectively registered, reported in accordance with current best practice. Issues such as the type of TBI suffered by participants and concentration of infusion and length of time over which the infusion is given should be investigated.
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Review Meta Analysis
A meta-analysis of the effects of therapeutic hypothermia in adult patients with traumatic brain injury.
Therapeutic hypothermia management remains controversial in patients with traumatic brain injury. We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the risks and benefits of therapeutic hypothermia management in patients with traumatic brain injury. ⋯ Our meta-analysis demonstrated that therapeutic hypothermia did not reduce but might increase the mortality rate of patients with traumatic brain injury in some high-quality studies. However, traumatic brain injury patients with elevated intracranial hypertension could benefit from hypothermia in therapeutic management instead of prophylaxis when initiated within 24 h.