Articles: brain-injuries.
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Multicenter Study
Interrater reliability of criteria used in assessing blunt head injury patients for intracranial injuries.
To determine the interrater reliability of potential predictor variables that may be used to construct a clinical decision rule for emergency computed tomography of the head in blunt head injury victims. ⋯ The clinicians in our study had a substantial level of agreement regarding most clinical criteria assessed in this large sample of patients with blunt head injury.
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Acta neurochirurgica · Aug 2003
Multicenter StudyThe BrainIT group: concept and core dataset definition.
An open collaborative international network has been established which aims to improve inter-centre standards for collection of high-resolution, neurointensive care data on patients with traumatic brain injury. The group is also working towards the creation of an open access, detailed and validated database that will be useful for post-hoc hypothesis testing. In Part A, the underlying concept, the group coordination structure, membership guidelines and database access and publication criteria are described. Secondly, in part B, we describe a set of meetings funded by the EEC that allowed us to define a "Core Dataset" and we present the results of a feasibility exercise for collection of this core dataset. ⋯ The BrainIT network provides a more standardised and higher resolution data collection mechanism for research groups, organisations and the device industry to conduct multi-centre trials of new health care technology in patients with traumatic brain injury.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Apr 2003
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical TrialEfficacy of antimicrobial-impregnated external ventricular drain catheters: a prospective, randomized, controlled trial.
Catheter-related infection of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pathways is a potentially life-threatening complication of external ventricular drainage. A major source of infection is bacterial contamination along the external ventricular drain (EVD) catheter track. The authors examined the efficacy of EVD catheters impregnated with minocycline and rifampin in preventing these catheter-related infections. ⋯ The use of EVD catheters impregnated with minocycline and rifampin can significantly reduce the risk of catheter-related infections.
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Arch Phys Med Rehabil · Mar 2003
Multicenter Study Clinical TrialAnalyzing risk factors for late posttraumatic seizures: a prospective, multicenter investigation.
To ascertain the natural history and to stratify risks for the development of late posttraumatic seizures in individuals with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). ⋯ Stratification by CT scan findings and neurosurgical procedures performed were the most useful findings in defining individuals at highest risk for late posttraumatic seizures.
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Brain injury : [BI] · Mar 2003
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyPresence of post-concussion syndrome symptoms in patients with chronic pain vs mild traumatic brain injury.
Post-concussion syndrome (PCS) is a controversial diagnosis, in part because many symptoms may be present in other conditions, such as chronic pain (CP). However, direct comparisons between people with CP and mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) are limited. The purpose of this study was to compare people with CP and MTBI on a measure of PCS symptoms. ⋯ PCS symptoms are not unique to MTBI, and may be seen in conditions such as CP.