Left Ventricular Function in the Initial Period After Severe Traumatic Brain Injury in Swine.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac dysfunction is common in the days after severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) and may contribute to hypotension episodes, leading to worse outcomes. Little is known about cardiac function in the minutes and hours immediately following TBI. By using fluid percussion TBI in a swine model, we aimed to characterize the immediate post injury cardiac function. METHODS: Intubated, anesthetized immature (25.8 ± 1.5 kg) female swine were subjected to severe fluid percussion TBI (4.2 ± 0.2 atm). Beginning at 45 min, simulating hospital arrival, all animals were resuscitated with normal saline (NS), mannitol, and phenylephrine as needed to maintain a cerebral perfusion pressure more than 60 mm Hg and intracranial pressure (ICP) less than 20 mm Hg. Primary outcomes of cardiac function were cardiac output measured by thermodilution and transesophageal echo measurements of cardiac function recorded at prespecified time points and tested for trends over time using linear regression with spline at the time of resuscitation onset. Secondary outcomes included hemodynamic measurements, ICP, and cerebral perfusion pressure. RESULTS: Eighteen animals were included. Post-TBI hemodynamic changes demonstrated an early decrease in mean arterial pressure and cerebral perfusion pressure with a corresponding increase in heart rate and ICP. Immediately after injury, there was a significant decrease in both left atrial area and tissue Doppler imaging e' of the LV lateral wall. In addition, there was a simultaneous increase in LV end diastolic diameter and increase in E/e' ratio of the lateral mitral annulus. All other transesophageal echo measurements demonstrated no significant changes throughout the duration of the experiment. CONCLUSIONS: Traumatic brain injury is associated with cardiac dysfunction and increased mortality, however there is still a limited understanding of the hemodynamic and echocardiographic response associated with TBI. In this study we demonstrate the hemodynamic and echocardiographic changes in the early stages of TBI in swine. The authors hope that these results may help better understanding on the management of patients with severe head injury.