The Effects of Head Elevation on Intracranial Pressure, Cerebral Perfusion Pressure, and Cerebral Oxygenation Among Patients with Acute Brain Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Head elevation is recommended as a tier zero measure to decrease high intracranial pressure (ICP) in neurocritical patients. However, its quantitative effects on cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP), jugular bulb oxygen saturation (SjvO2), brain tissue partial pressure of oxygen (PbtO2), and arteriovenous difference of oxygen (AVDO2) are uncertain. Our objective was to evaluate the effects of head elevation on ICP, CPP, SjvO2, PbtO2, and AVDO2 among patients with acute brain injury. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane Library of studies comparing the effects of different degrees of head elevation on ICP, CPP, SjvO2, PbtO2, and AVDO2. RESULTS: A total of 25 articles were included in the systematic review. Of these, 16 provided quantitative data regarding outcomes of interest and underwent meta-analyses. The mean ICP of patients with acute brain injury was lower in group with 30° of head elevation than in the supine position group (mean difference [MD] - 5.58 mm Hg; 95% confidence interval [CI] - 6.74 to - 4.41 mm Hg; p < 0.00001). The only comparison in which a greater degree of head elevation did not significantly reduce the ICP was 45° vs. 30°. The mean CPP remained similar between 30° of head elevation and supine position (MD - 2.48 mm Hg; 95% CI - 5.69 to 0.73 mm Hg; p = 0.13). Similar findings were observed in all other comparisons. The mean SjvO2 was similar between the 30° of head elevation and supine position groups (MD 0.32%; 95% CI - 1.67% to 2.32%; p = 0.75), as was the mean PbtO2 (MD - 1.50 mm Hg; 95% CI - 4.62 to 1.62 mm Hg; p = 0.36), and the mean AVDO2 (MD 0.06 µmol/L; 95% CI - 0.20 to 0.32 µmol/L; p = 0.65).The mean ICP of patients with traumatic brain injury was also lower with 30° of head elevation when compared to the supine position. There was no difference in the mean values of mean arterial pressure, CPP, SjvO2, and PbtO2 between these groups. CONCLUSIONS: Increasing degrees of head elevation were associated, in general, with a lower ICP, whereas CPP and brain oxygenation parameters remained unchanged. The severe traumatic brain injury subanalysis found similar results.

TRansfusion strategies in Acute brain INjured patients (TRAIN): a prospective multicenter randomized interventional trial protocol.

BACKGROUND: Although blood transfusions can be lifesaving in severe hemorrhage, they can also have potential complications. As anemia has also been associated with poor outcomes in critically ill patients, determining an optimal transfusion trigger is a real challenge for clinicians. This is even more important in patients with acute brain injury who were not specifically evaluated in previous large randomized clinical trials. Neurological patients may be particularly sensitive to anemic brain hypoxia because of the exhausted cerebrovascular reserve, which adjusts cerebral blood flow to tissue oxygen demand. METHODS: We described herein the methodology of a prospective, multicenter, randomized, pragmatic trial comparing two different strategies for red blood cell transfusion in patients with acute brain injury: a "liberal" strategy in which the aim is to maintain hemoglobin (Hb) concentrations greater than 9 g/dL and a "restrictive" approach in which the aim is to maintain Hb concentrations greater than 7 g/dL. The target population is patients suffering from traumatic brain injury (TBI), subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), or intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). The primary outcome is the unfavorable neurological outcome, evaluated using the extended Glasgow Outcome Scale (eGOS) of 1-5 at 180 days after the initial injury. Secondary outcomes include, among others, 28-day survival, intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital lengths of stay, the occurrence of extra-cerebral organ dysfunction/failure, and the development of any infection or thromboembolic events. The estimated sample size is 794 patients to demonstrate a reduction in the primary outcome from 50 to 39% between groups (397 patients in each arm). The study was initiated in 2016 in several ICUs and will be completed in December 2022. DISCUSSION: This trial will assess the impact of a liberal versus conservative strategy of blood transfusion in a large cohort of critically ill patients with a primary acute brain injury. The results of this trial will help to improve blood product and transfusion use in this specific patient population and will provide additional data in some subgroups of patients at high risk of brain ischemia, such as those with intracranial hypertension or cerebral vasospasm. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02968654.

POCUS, how can we include the brain? An overview.

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is an essential tool to assess and manage different pathologies in the intensive care unit, and many protocols have been proposed for its application in critical care literature. However, the brain has been overlooked in these protocols.Brain ultrasonography (BU) is easily available, and it allows a goal-directed approach thanks to its repeatability and immediate interpretation and provides a quick management and real time assessment of patients' conditions. Based on recent studies, the increasing interest from intensivists, and the undeniable benefits of ultrasound, the main goal of this overview is to describe the main evidence and progresses in the incorporation of BU into the POCUS approach in the daily practice, and thus becoming POCUS-BU. This integration would allow a noninvasive global assessment to entail an integrated analysis of the critical care patients.

Traumatic Dissection of Arterial Cervical Vessels: Report of Two Cases and Literature Review

Even though traumatic dissection of cervical arterial vessels is themajor cause of stroke among adults, it is still an underdiagnosed disease in neurosurgical emergencies, since most patients do not have or present subtle clinical signs in the acute phase. The authors report two interesting cases of cervical artery dissection with different traumatic mechanisms and present a broad literature review about this subject.

The impact of cranioplasty on the patients' quality of life.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the quality of life in patients with moderate or large cranial bone defects before and after late cranioplasty. METHODS: Authors performed a prospective clinical trial including all consecutive patients that filled inclusion criteria during a period of 1 year. All patients answered the quality of life SF-36 questionnaire in 5 different times. Besides authors gathered information about the primary trauma and demographic characteristics. RESULTS: A total of 70 consecutive patients were admitted to the hospital during the study period, and 62 were included in the project. Cranioplasty statistically improved patients' quality of life in all 8 domains after a 24 months follow-up. CONCLUSION: Cranioplasty has a significant impact over the quality of life in brain trauma victims who survived the primary trauma and harbor a large cranial bone defect.

Tratamento endoscópico da coledocolitíase na era da colecistectomia laparoscópica: análise prospectiva de 328 casos / Endoscopic tratment of common bile duct stones in the era of laparoscopic cholecystectomy: prospective analysis of 328 cases

Os autores apresentam experiência coletada prospectivamente em 328 casos (231 fem.; 97 masc., média etária 57,5 anos) de coledocolitíase encaminhados para tratamento endoscópico. Quando analisados na base de intenção de tratamento, houve sucesso na retirada dos cálculos em 291 (88,7 por cento) casos...

Prevalência da doença do refluxo gastroesofágico: estudo populacional em Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul / Population-based study on the prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul

Introduçäo: A doença do refluxo gastroesofágico (DRGE) é provavelmente muito frequente em nosso meio. A grande maioria dos estudos estrangeiros que avaliaram a prevalência de sintomas relacionados à DRGE näo verificou a frequência de DRGE na comunidade, avaliando pessoas ou pacientes de serviços hospitalares terciários. Este estudo tem como objetivo verificar a presença de DRGE na comunidade, ao avaliar uma populaçäo näo selecionada em Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. Material e métodos: 818 pessoas (362 M, 456 F,média etária = 42,2 anos), escolhidos aleatoriamente na entrada de dois supermercados da periferia de Porto Alegre, foram intrevistadas por cinco acadêmicos de Medicina. Resultados: Do total de 818 entrevistados, 22,5por cento apresentavam pirose/regurgitaçäo ao menos semanalmente e 42,9por cento referiram apresentar, no mínimo, um episódio mensal de pirose/regurgitaçäo. Cento e quinze (62,5por cento) das 148 pessoas com sintomas semanais já haviam procurado auxilio médico por esse motivo, ante 114 (31,3por cento) dos 364 entrevistados que referiram já ter apresentado sintomas, mas näo semanalmente (p <0,01). Sintomas de refluxo form mais comums entre pessoas de cor negra ou mulatos que na populaçäo branca (53,3por cento vs. 40,8por cento, p <0,01). Näo houve associaçäo entre refluxo e sexo, idade, tabagismo, escolaridade e renda familiar. Conclusäo: Este estudo confirma a alta prevalência de DRGE na populaçäo geral(22,5 por cento), bem como demonstra que a DRGE é um importante motivo de consulta ao médico e realizaçäo de exames em nosso meio, sendo consequentemente uma importante causa da falta ao trabalho e de diminuiçäo de qualidade de vida em nossa populaçäo

Efeitos da estimulaçäo vibro-acústica na velocidade do sangue da artéria cerebral média e na freqüência cardíaca fetal: 1. entre a 35ª e 41ª semana de gestaçäo / The effect of vibratory acoustic stimulation on fetal middle cerebral artery impendance and instantaneous fetal heart rate: 1. a transversal study on fetuses with 35 to 41 weeks of gestacional age

Objetivos: estudar, em fetos hígidos, quais säo as respostas da freqüência cardíaca fetal basal a da resistência na artéria cerebral média à estimulaçäo vibro-acústica padronizada. Métodos: em estado comportamental de hipo ou de inatividade fetal (apnéia e ausência de movimentos corpóreos), mediu-se o índice de pulsatilidade (IP) da artéria cerebral média (ACM), bem como calculou-se a freqüência cardíaca fetal basal (FCFB) pela análise da onda espectral, antes e após a aplicaçäo de estímulo vibro-acústico (EVA) por 3 segundos. Foram empregados ecógrafos de alta resoluçäo, com Doppler pulsado e mapeamento a cores. A fonte sonora emitia som com 400 a 40.000 Hz, sob forma de varredura, com pressäo sonora de 65 a 110 dB. Resultados: a média da FCFB pré-estímulo foi 139 bpm, com desvio padräo de 3,14 bpm. A média da FCFB pós-estímulo foi 153 bpm, com desvio padräo de 7,23 bpm (p<0.0001). A média do IP da ACM pré-estímulo foi 1,84, com desvio padräo de 0,07. A média do IP da ACM foi 1,56, com desvio padräo de 0,04 (p<0.00001). Em todos os casos houve resposta do concepto, caracterizada pela evidência de movimento corpóreo vigoroso, aumento da FCFB e reduçäo do IP na ACM. Em nenhum caso houve necessidade de repetir o estímulo vibro-acústico. Conclusões: a aplicaçäo de estímulo vibro-acústico, com as características aqui descritas, em conceptos hígidos e de termo, por período de 3 segundos, determina incremento na FCFB e nos movimentos corpóreos, bem como reduçäo na impedância da ACM. Em que pese haver tendência em se inferir que a EVA determina aumento no fluxo de sangue ao cérebro fetal, os dados aqui evidenciados näo permitem interpretações clínicas