Articles: brain-injuries.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Lack of effect of induction of hypothermia after acute brain injury.
Induction of hypothermia in patients with brain injury was shown to improve outcomes in small clinical studies, but the results were not definitive. To study this issue, we conducted a multicenter trial comparing the effects of hypothermia with those of normothermia in patients with acute brain injury. ⋯ Treatment with hypothermia, with the body temperature reaching 33 degrees C within eight hours after injury, is not effective in improving outcomes in patients with severe brain injury.
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Wien. Klin. Wochenschr. · Feb 2001
Comparative StudyPost-traumatic changes in insulin-like growth factor type 1 and growth hormone in patients with bone fractures and traumatic brain injury.
The aim of the study was to determine whether changes in serum levels of growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor type 1 (IGF-1) are related to the phenomenon of enhanced osteogenesis in patients with bone fracture combined with traumatic brain injury (TBI), which would also suggest their involvement in post-traumatic stress and their applicability in the promotion of bone fracture healing. GH values were increased during the initial post-traumatic period in all patients (those with bone fractures or TBI alone or combined injury associated with enhanced osteogenesis), declining to normal values afterwards. ⋯ In these patients IGF-1 values increased gradually during fracture healing, as was also the case in patients with bone fractures alone. Thus, different patterns of post-traumatic changes in both GH and IGF-1 were seen in patients with TBI or bone fractures in comparison to those with combined injury, indicating the involvement of these substances in the post-traumatic stress response and in the phenomenon of enhanced osteogenesis in patients with bone fractures and TBI.
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Critical care medicine · Feb 2001
Interstitial brain adenosine and xanthine increase during jugular venous oxygen desaturations in humans after traumatic brain injury.
Adenosine decreases the cerebral metabolic rate for oxygen and increases cerebral blood flow, and it may play an important role in cerebrometabolic and cerebrovascular responses to hypoperfusion after traumatic brain injury. Jugular venous oxygen saturation is monitored after traumatic brain injury to assess brain oxygen extraction, and desaturations may reflect secondary brain insults. We hypothesized that brain interstitial adenosine and related purine metabolites would be increased during jugular venous oxygen saturation desaturations (<50%) and determined associations between the purines, lactate, and glucose to assess the role of adenosine during secondary insults in humans. ⋯ The marked increases in interstitial brain adenosine that occur during jugular venous oxygen desaturations suggest that adenosine may play an important role during periods of secondary insults after traumatic brain injury. The correlation of these metabolites with lactate further suggests that adenosine is increased during periods of enhanced glycolytic metabolism.
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Case Reports Historical Article
The history of the Glasgow Coma Scale: implications for practice.
The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) has been the gold standard of neurologic assessment for trauma patients since its development by Jennett and Teasdale in the early 1970s. The GCS was found to be a simple tool to use. ⋯ Although the scale has been shown to be effective, many authors have cited weaknesses in the scale including the inability to predict outcome, variation in inter-rater reliability, and the inconsistent use by caregivers in the prehospital and hospital settings. This article outlines the components of the GCS and how practitioners can best use the scale, particularly in patients whose injuries and treatments make them difficult to assess.
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Brain injury : [BI] · Feb 2001
Clinical TrialMethotrimeprazine in the treatment of agitation in acquired brain injury patients.
Medical management of the agitation associated with acquired brain injury (ABI) has been proble matic. At least 12 distinct drugs are currently recommended in the medical literature. In recent years, on the ABI in-patient rehabilitation unit, methotrimeprazine (MTZ) has come to be the preferred drug and is used routinely for effective treatment of agitation. ⋯ Agitation was controlled in most cases. In only two cases were significant side effects noted. While MTZ has been used as a safe and effective neuroleptic in psychiatry for over 40 years, this is the first report of its use in treating agitation in ABI.