We all recall the elegant curves that ostensibly show the neat relationship between mean arterial blood pressure (or CPP) and cerebral blood flow. This relationship classically has its lower and upper limits, beyond which CBF will vary passively with the systemic pressure. Stay within these limits and all is good, the mantra goes. However, as… Continue reading Cerebral Autoregulation – What do we know?
After completing recruitment of some 408 TBI patients in 2014, the RESCUEicp group finally published the results from this eagerly awaited trial. The article by Hutchinson et al, titled Trial of Decompressive Craniectomy for Traumatic Intracranial Hypertension, was published on September 7th in the New England Journal of Medicine. So let´s go straight to the core: The study… Continue reading RESCUEicp Trial Results Finally Out: Craniectomy in TBI Lowers Mortality, But Survivors Suffer Worse Neurological Outcomes
The long-awaited Eurotherm trial was published in NEJM in autumn 2015. The premise of the study was to examine the impact of induced hypothermia on outcomes after traumatic brain injury. In a multi center randomized controlled trial patients were allocated to either therapeutic hypothermia (32-35 degrees) or the control group (standard care, normothermia). The study… Continue reading Eurotherm 3235 Trial
Right off the press: an open access review article from Critical Care on fluid therapy in the neurological patient. It provides a nice synopsis of the different fluid therapy paradigms that are advocated through various guidelines. The review challenges some of the tenets of basic treatment, such as empirical fluid maintenance and the definition of… Continue reading Critical Care: Fluid Therapy in Neurological Patients
A quick review published in BMJ´s Best Evidence Topic Reports series, April 2016 by Kapil Mohan Rajwani and Azlisham Mohd Nor. They address the issue of lowering elevated blood pressures in patients with an acute ICH. Is it safe and is there evidence to support active BP-management? And if yes, what´s our target? Targeted blood pressure management in… Continue reading Best BETs – Safe to Lower BP in ICH?
An Evidence-Based Consensus Statement from the Neurocritical Care Society. Read more here. Best regards, Riikka Takala.
Now more than three years old, but still an absolute landmark study and mandatory reading for anyone who cares for neurotrauma patients. Smallish trial but very well carried out and yielding some remarkable findings. A commonly cited article by Randy Chesnut and his group showing equipoise between an ICP-driven protocol and management determined by CT… Continue reading BEST TRIP – ICP vs. CT/clinical exam for TBI
