Articles: traumatic-brain-injuries.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Prolonged Automated Robotic TCD Monitoring in Acute Severe TBI: Study Design and Rationale.
Transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (TCD) is a portable, bedside, noninvasive diagnostic tool used for the real-time assessment of cerebral hemodynamics. Despite the evident utility of TCD and the ability of this technique to function as a stethoscope to the brain, its use has been limited to specialized centers because of the dearth of technical and clinical expertise required to acquire and interpret the cerebrovascular parameters. Additionally, the conventional pragmatic episodic TCD monitoring protocols lack dynamic real-time feedback to guide time-critical clinical interventions. Fortunately, with the recent advent of automated robotic TCD technology in conjunction with the automated software for TCD data processing, we now have the technology to automatically acquire TCD data and obtain clinically relevant information in real-time. By obviating the need for highly trained clinical personnel, this technology shows great promise toward a future of widespread noninvasive monitoring to guide clinical care in patients with acute brain injury. ⋯ The overarching goal of this study is to establish safety and feasibility of prolonged automated TCD monitoring for patients with TBI in the intensive care unit and identify clinically meaningful and pragmatic noninvasive targets for future interventions.
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Firearm-related injury is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in pediatric populations. Despite a disproportionate role in the most morbid outcomes in both traumatic brain injury and firearm-related injury populations, firearm-related traumatic brain injury (frTBI) is an understudied epidemiological entity. There is need to increase understanding and promote interventions that reduce this burden of disease. ⋯ By understanding published epidemiological data and areas of intervention shown to reduce frTBIs, neurosurgeons can become further engaged in public health and prevention rather than strictly treatment after injury.
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Cerebral edema and intracranial hypertension are major contributors to unfavorable prognosis in traumatic brain injury (TBI). Local epigenetic changes, particularly in DNA methylation, may influence gene expression and thus host response/secondary injury after TBI. It remains unknown whether DNA methylation in the central nervous system is associated with cerebral edema severity or intracranial hypertension post TBI. We sought to identify epigenome-wide DNA methylation patterns associated with these forms of secondary injury after TBI. ⋯ We report a novel potential relationship between intracranial hypertension after TBI and an acute, nonsustained reduction in DNA methylation at cg22111818 in the RGMA gene. To our knowledge, this is the largest EWAS in severe TBI. Our findings are further strengthened by previous findings that RGMA modulates axonal repair in other central nervous system disorders, but a role in intracranial hypertension or TBI has not been previously identified. Additional work is warranted to validate and extend these findings, including assessment of its possible role in risk stratification, identification of novel druggable targets, and ultimately our ability to personalize therapy in TBI.
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Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg · Aug 2022
The significance of direct transportation to a trauma center on survival for severe traumatic brain injury.
While timely specialized care can contribute to improved outcomes following traumatic brain injury (TBI), this condition remains the most common cause of post-injury death worldwide. The purpose of this study was to investigate the difference in mortality between regional trauma centers in Sweden (which provide neurosurgical services round the clock) and non-trauma centers, hypothesizing that 1-day and 30-day mortality will be lower at regional trauma centers. ⋯ For patients suffering a severe TBI, treatment at a regional trauma center confers a statistically significant 1-day and 30-day survival advantage over treatment at a non-trauma center.
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In the last few decades, an opioid related health crisis has been a challenging problem in many countries around the world, especially the United States. Better understanding of the association of pre-admission opioid abuse and/or dependence (POAD) on specific major complications in traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients can aid the medical team in improving patient care management and outcomes. ⋯ POAD TBI patients have a lower in-hospital mortality, shorter duration of hospitalization and a lower risk of acute myocardial infarction, while they are more likely to have respiratory failure, delirium, sepsis, malnutrition, and acute renal failure compared to TBI patients without POAD. Prospective study is warranted to further confirm these findings.