Corticosteroid treatment for refractory intracranial hypertension: a rescue therapy in patients with severe traumatic brain injury with contusional lesions-a feedback.

INTRODUCTION: Refractory intracranial hypertension (rICH) is a severe complication among patients with severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI). Medical treatment may be insufficient, and in some cases, the only viable treatment option is decompressive hemicraniectomy. The assessment of a corticosteroid therapy against vasogenic edema secondary to severe brain injuries seems interesting to prevent this surgery in sTBI patients with rICH caused by contusional areas. METHODS: This is a monocentric retrospective observational study including all consecutive sTBI patients with contusion injuries and a rICH requiring cerebrospinal fluid drainage with external ventricular drainage between November 2013 and January 2018. Patient inclusion criterium was a therapeutic index load (TIL; an indirect measure of TBI severity) > 7. Intracranial pressure (ICP) and TIL were assessed before and 48 h after corticosteroid therapy (CTC). Then, we divided the population into two groups according to the evolution of the TIL: responders and non-responders to corticosteroid therapy. RESULTS: During the study period, 512 patients were hospitalized for sTBI, and among them, 44 (8.6%) with rICH were included. They received 240 mg per day [120 mg, 240 mg] of Solu-Medrol for 2 days [1; 3], 3 days after the sTBI. The average ICP in patients with rICH before the CTC bolus was 21 mmHg [19; 23]. After the CTC bolus, the ICP fell significantly to less than 15 mmHg (p < 0.0001) for at least 7 days. The TIL decreased significantly the day after the CTC bolus and until day 2. Among these 44 patients, 68% were included in the responder group (n = 30). DISCUSSION: Short and systemic corticosteroid therapy in patients with refractory intracranial hypertension secondary to severe traumatic brain injury seems to be a potentially useful and efficient treatment for lowering intracranial pressure and decreasing the need for more invasive surgeries.

Long-Term Cangrelor Administration in Neurology Intensive Care: A Case Series.

Cangrelor is a P2Y12 inhibitor antiplatelet agent, with a rapid onset and offset. The available literature only reviews short-term administration over a few hours. We describe 5 patients who received cangrelor for >1 month in a neurosurgical intensive care unit due to a very high likelihood of requiring emergency revision surgery. Despite multiple therapeutic interruptions for surgical procedures, no hemorrhagic events occurred, and there was only one transient ischemic event, which occurred during transition from cangrelor to ticagrelor. Cangrelor can be a therapeutic option for patients with a high likelihood of requiring revision neurosurgery after intracranial stenting.

Preliminary Experience with Cangrelor for Endovascular Treatment of Challenging Intracranial Aneurysms.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Cangrelor is a P2Y12 inhibitor that presents the advantage of having a short half-life. Its use may be helpful in the management of antiplatelet therapy for patients with intracranial aneurysms treated by stent-assisted coiling or flow-diverter stents. The purpose of this study was to report early experiences in using cangrelor for such indications. MATERIAL AND METHODS: From October 2017 to November 2018, 7 consecutive patients (5 females, 2 males, mean age = 56 years) were managed with cangrelor as antiplatelet therapy, combined with aspirin, for stent-assisted coiling embolization and flow-diverter embolization of challenging intracranial aneurysms. Anti-aggregation protocols, including cangrelor, were systematically recorded. Treatment-related complications (minor/major hemorrhagic complications, ischemic complications) as well as clinical and angiographic outcomes (evaluated at 8.7 ± 4.2 and 8.75 ± 10 months, respectively) were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: Of the aneurysms 71.4% (5 out of 7) were ruptured and treated in the acute phase. In one case cangrelor was used as an alternative to clopidogrel in an asymptomatic hemorrhagic complication after stent-assisted coiling for better control of a possible worsening of the intracranial bleeding. Of the patients, 1 (14%) with a complex ruptured MCA aneurysm treated with a flow-diverter stent experienced a severe intracranial hemorrhage, which occurred after switching the cangrelor to ticagrelor and eventually led to death. No hemorrhagic complications under cangrelor were recorded for the six remaining patients. No mRS worsening was observed at discharge, except for the patient who died and six out of the seven patients had a mRS ≤2 at follow-up. CONCLUSION: Cangrelor is a new antiplatelet therapy with a P2Y12 inhibiting effect, with a rapid onset and offset of action, owing to its short half-life. This cases series presents a pilot experience with promising results in terms of antiplatelet management for challenging intracranial aneurysms treated by stent assisted coiling or flow-diverter stents.

[Management of severe traumatic brain injury]. / Réanimation des patients traumatisés crâniens graves.

Severe brain injuries, most often occurring in young subjects, are a major source of lost work years. These injuries are medical and surgical emergencies. Prehospital management of severe brain injuries requires intubation and mechanical ventilation aimed at normal arterial carbon dioxide pressure. Signs of transtentorial herniation: Uni- or bilateral mydriasis requires immediate perfusion of 20% mannitol or hypertonic sodium chloride. Neurological disorders after head injury justify emergency cerebral computed tomography. The presence of a mass syndrome or signs of transtentorial herniation are in principle indications for surgery. Specialized hospital management is essential. In the case of refractory intracranial hypertension, the cerebral perfusion pressure and osmotherapy should be adapted to the volume of the cerebral contusion. The use of deep hypothermia and barbiturates should be minimized as much as possible. Magnetic resonance imaging makes it possible to identify the cerebral lesions.