Articles: brain-injuries.
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The pathophysiology and clinical management of acute brain injury in infancy and childhood are presented using acute traumatic brain injury as a model. The principles of stabilization, transport, and intensive care management are critically reviewed.
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Tidsskr. Nor. Laegeforen. · Nov 1991
Review[Neurointensive monitoring. Experiences with neurophysiological examinations].
Multimodal-evoked responses and EEG are used as a routine in many intensive care units and have proved their diagnostic and prognostic significance in a series of studies on comatose patients and patients with severe head injuries. The article includes a brief description of the methods, and of their use and interpretation in neurointensive medical care.
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Brain injury : [BI] · Oct 1991
ReviewCritical analysis of the concept of sensory stimulation for patients in vegetative states.
The practice of coma arousal and sensory stimulation is becoming the focus of heated debate. There is no theory on which patients may benefit, at what time in their recovery, or how the 'arousal' or 'stimulation' procedures should be applied. This paper considers some of the information processing mechanisms that are important mediators of arousal and awareness, pointing to some of the weaknesses in current practices and suggesting alternative approaches. Recommendations for a conceptual model of sensory stimulation are given that might provide a more scientific perspective to those who use such methods.
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Fortschr Neurol Psychiatr · Sep 1991
Review[Prognostic factors in rehabilitation after severe craniocerebral injuries].
Even with modern standards of intensive care management and rehabilitation services, severe head injury often results in permanent disability. A review of the literature concerning predictors of outcome after severe head injury is presented. The early identification of those factors which are of greatest significance in determining outcome is of essential value in the appropriate management of rehabilitation therapy. ⋯ The presence of previous brain damage also seems extremely important. In contrast, the prognostic value of pretraumatic personality factors and of the psychosocial status of the head injured patient requires additional research. Comparison among studies is hindered by differences in patient samples, timing of assessments, and various outcome measures with respect to rehabilitation management.
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The article discusses the total results of multifactorial analysis of observations over 16,000 children with isolated and more than 400 with combined craniocerebral trauma (CCT) in the light of the peculiarities of the child age and the current trends in studying the problem in the Soviet Union and other countries. From these standpoints, the author first gives a clinicomorphological characterization of CCT types in children, deals with the methods and prospects of objectivication of the evaluation of the severity of isolated and combined CCT, extracranial local injuries in polytrauma, totally determining the severity of the general condition and the efficacy and prognosis of the diagnostic and therapeutic measures. Original methods for quantitative evaluation of the degree of severity of the trauma, which were developed in the clinic, are described. ⋯ For this purpose, the author uses conventional designations for the main gradients of the pathophysiological reactions of the child's organism depending on the location and severity of the concrete damages and the general condition, making a coded recording of the diagnosis possible, which makes easier the sorting out and registration of the patients and orientation as regards the order in which aid should be given and the volume of the therapeutic and diagnostic programs with the use of computers. The patients were subjected to general clinical examination and laboratory tests, as well as special methods of examination (radiography, ultrasonic study, angiography, circulography, computed tomography, etc.). Importance was attached to the results of histological study and the reports of the forensic medical examination committee.