The Society for Neuroscience in Anesthesiology and Critical Care (SNACC) incoming president Dr. Deepak Sharma shares his thoughts as we approach the new year. Some valuable input to bring with us into the holidays. Read his newsletter here.
Our Danish colleagues have recently issued updated guidelines on spinal stabilisation of adult trauma patients (open-access in the Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine). As expected, the evidence base is fairly limited as robust randomised studies on this topic are rare and often hard to conduct. The group does provide a strong recommendation… Continue reading New Danish Guidelines on Spinal Stabilisation in Trauma
The optimal hyperosmotic agent for treatment of intracranial hypertension following TBI has been an inexhaustible subject of debate. Scant evidence underlies these discussions despite widespread and long-standing use of both agents. In this article Anstey et al. retrospectively analysed data from 14 different centres to compare outcomes in mannitol-only and hypertonic saline-only cohorts. They excluded… Continue reading Mannitol vs. Hypertonic Saline in TBI – A Retrospective Study
SNACC’s article of the month for July is an excellent narrative review on the pharmacodynamics of vasopressors in health and in the setting of brain injury. The review is preceded by an introductory commentary by neuroscand.com contributor Dr. Riikka Takala.
The ever-increasing use of direct (or novel) oral anticoagulants (DOACs) has had a profound effect on primary and secondary prevention of thromboembolic events, especially in the elderly. Whilst many patients benefit from switching over to these newer drugs from older anticoagulants like warfarin, thus foregoing such nuisances as INR-guided dosing, they have also inevitably led… Continue reading Impact of DOACs in TBI in the over 60s
From our quality-focused colleagues at the Society for Neuroscience in Anesthesiology and Critical Care (SNACC) comes this set of guidelines for management of the most common emergencies encountered in neuroanaesthetic practice. Conceived with the purpose of addressing complex emergent issues in a concise, goal-directed and simplified manner, these cognitive aids are clear-cut and based on… Continue reading SNACC – How to Handle Neuroanaesthetic Emergencies
In this interesting trial by Lima and colleagues, with findings published recently in the Journal of Neurosurgical Anesthesiology, the authors compare normal saline (NS) with a balanced crystalloid as a maintenance fluid for elective tumour resection in paediatric patients. Their main endpoint was change in serum chloride from baseline to end of surgery. Perhaps unsurprisingly… Continue reading Balanced Crystalloids Better Than Isotonic Saline for Craniotomy in Kids?
In a long overdue update, the Brain Trauma Foundation have issued their recently revised guidelines for management of paediatric severe traumatic brain injury. We at neuroscand.com have yet to assess all of the recommendations yet, so expect more as we get through the whole document. At first glance, though, there seems to be little substantial… Continue reading BTF Guidelines for Paediatric TBI 2019 – Finally Updated
This study, recently published in JAMA, revealed no beneficial effect from hypothermia as an adjunct to decompressive hemicraniectomy in the setting of middle cerebral artery stroke. In fact, the authors’ findings even suggest harm. Find the article here.
Hermanides and colleagues recently reviewed all available evidence on blood glucose targets in the TBI patient. Read their finding in this article in Critical Care. When comparing strict glycaemic regimens with more liberal strategies they found no significant differences in patient-important outcomes, contrary to earlier findings. They did reveal an increased risk of hypoglycaemia, however.… Continue reading Glycaemic Control Targets After Traumatic Brain Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
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