Neuro damage control: current concept and civilian applications.

Damage control (DC) initially referred to abbreviated (<1 h) surgical procedures to control abdominal hemorrhage in severe trauma patients, to avoid the 'bloody vicious circle' of hypothermia-coagulopathy-acidosis-hypocalcemia. Progressively, the concept was extended to pre-hospital and peri-operative surgical and non-surgical trauma care. The DC strategy can be applied either in a single severe trauma patient at risk of progression toward the bloody vicious circle or in case of limited or overwhelmed health resources (deprived environment, mass casualties, etc.). DC strategies in neurological casualties have improved over the last decade in military neurosurgeons, but remain poorly codified in civilian settings. In this comprehensive review, we summarize the current concept of neuro-DC, which includes surgical and medical care for neurological injuries as part of a DC strategy. Neuro-DC basically consists in: (i) preventing secondary brain injury; (ii) controlling intracranial bleeding; (iii) controlling intracranial pressure; (iv) limiting contamination of compound wounds; and (v) achieving secondary anatomical restoration.

Prehospital Tranexamic Acid in Major Pediatric Trauma Within a Physician-Led Emergency Medical Services System: A Multicenter Retrospective Study.

OBJECTIVES: Describe prehospital tranexamic acid (TXA) use and appropriateness within a major trauma pediatric population, and identify the factors associated with its use. DESIGN: Multicenter, retrospective study, 2014-2020. SETTING: Data were extracted from a multicenter French trauma registry including nine trauma centers within a physician-led prehospital emergency medical services (EMS) system. PATIENTS: Patients less than 18 years old were included. Those who did not receive prehospital intervention by a mobile medical team and those with missing data on TXA administration were excluded. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Nine-hundred thirty-four patients (median [interquartile range] age: 14 yr [9-16 yr]) were included, and 68.6% n = 639) were male. Most patients were involved in a road collision (70.2%, n = 656) and suffered a blunt trauma (96.5%; n = 900). Patients receiving TXA (36.6%; n = 342) were older (15 [13-17] vs 12 yr [6-16 yr]) compared with those who did not. Patient severity was higher in the TXA group (Injury Severity Score 14 [9-25] vs 6 [2-13]; p < 0.001). The median dosage was 16 mg/kg (13-19 mg/kg). TXA administration was found in 51.8% cases ( n = 256) among patients with criteria for appropriate use. Conversely, 32.4% of patients ( n = 11) with an isolated severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) also received TXA. Age (odds ratio [OR], 1.2; 95% CI, 1.1-1.2), A and B prehospital severity grade (OR, 7.1; 95% CI, 4.1-12.3 and OR, 4.5; 95% CI, 2.9-6.9 respectively), and year of inclusion (OR, 1.2; 95% CI, 1.1-1.3) were associated with prehospital TXA administration. CONCLUSIONS: In our physician-led prehospital EMS system, TXA is used in a third of severely injured children despite the lack of high-level of evidence. Only half of the population with greater than or equal to one criteria for appropriate TXA use received it. Conversely, TXA was administered in a third of isolated severe TBI. Further research is warranted to clarify TXA indications and to evaluate its impact on mortality and its safety profile to oversee its prescription.

Which injured patients with moderate fibrinogen deficit need fibrinogen supplementation?

BACKGROUND: In severely injured patients, fibrinogen supplementation is recommended when fibrinogenemia is < 1.5 g L-1, but some teams have suggested to use higher thresholds (fibrinogenemia < 2.0 g L-1 or FIBTEM clot amplitude at 5 min (A5) values < 11 mm). The goal of this study was to specify in patients with a moderate fibrinogen deficit (MFD) whether some admission characteristics would be associated with fibrinogen administration at 24 h. METHODS: Prospective analysis of retrospectively collected data from a trauma registry (01/2011-12/2019). MFD-C was defined by a fibrinogenemia 1.51-1.99 g L-1 or the corresponding FIBTEM-A5 values (MFD-A5) that were determined from linear regression and ROC curve analysis. Administration of fibrinogen were described according to the following admission parameters: shock index (SI) > 1, hemoglobin level < 110 g L-1 (HemoCue®), and base deficit > 5 mEq L-1. Data are expressed as count (%), median [IQR]. RESULTS: 1076 patients were included in the study and 266 (27%) had MFD-C, among them, 122/266 (46%) received fibrinogen. Patients with MFD-C who received fibrinogen were more severely injured (ISS: 27 [19-36] vs. 24 [17-29]) and had more impaired vital signs (base deficit: 5.4 [3.6-7.8] vs. 3.8 [2.0-6.0]). Linear regression analysis found a positive correlation between fibrinogen level and FIBTEM-A5 (r: 0.805). For a fibrinogen level < 1.5 g L-1 and < 2.0 g L-1, FIBTEM-A5 thresholds were 6 mm (sensitivity 85%, specificity 83%, AUC: 0.934) and 9 mm (sensitivity 84%, specificity 69%, AUC: 0.874), respectively. MFD-A5 values (185 (27%) patients) were defined as a FIBTEM-A5 between 7 and 9 mm. More than 50% of MFD-C patients presenting a SI > 1, a hemoglobin level < 110 g L-1, or a base deficit > 5.0 mEq L-1 received fibrinogen. The relative risk [95% CI] for fibrinogen administration (SI > 1) were 1.39 [1.06-1.82] for MFD-C, and 2.17 [1.48-3.19] for MFD-A5. Results were not modified after adjustment on the ISS. CONCLUSIONS: We have shown in this study an association between shock parameters and fibrinogen administration. Further studies are needed to determine how these parameters may be used to guide fibrinogen administration in trauma patients with MFD.

Fibrinolytic shutdown diagnosed with rotational thromboelastometry represents a moderate form of coagulopathy associated with transfusion requirement and mortality: A retrospective analysis.

BACKGROUND: Viscoelastic techniques have made it possible to describe specific fibrinolytic phenotypes (physiological, hyperfibrinolysis and shutdown) and to establish a relationship of these phenotypes with outcome. However, there remains a debate as to whether shutdown is a state of hypercoagulability or rather a coagulopathy with moderate fibrinolysis and fibrinogen consumption. OBJECTIVES: Our objectives were to describe the relationship between fibrinolytic phenotypes and outcomes, and to report the effects of tranexamic acid (TXA) administration. DESIGN: This was a retrospective analysis of prospectively acquired data from a trauma registry. SETTING: An academic level 1 trauma centre in the Lyon Region, from March 2011 to December 2016. PATIENTS: We included all injured patients who had a rotational thromboelastometry analysis at admission. Fibrinolytic phenotypes were determined according to the maximum lysis: shutdown less than 3%, physiological 3 to 15%, hyperfibrinolysis more than 15%. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Mortality at 24 h and at hospital discharge. RESULTS: During the study period, 473 patients were included with the following phenotypes: physiological (344 patients, 73%), shutdown (107 patients, 23%) and hyperfibrinolysis (22 patients, 5%). There was an increase in injury severity, prothrombin time ratio, fibrin degradation products and transfusion requirements from the physiological to the shutdown and hyperfibrinolysis phenotypes. Prehospital TXA administration increased the rate of shutdown and decreased the maximum lysis value at admission. After adjustment, multivariate analysis showed that fibrinolytic phenotypes, but not TXA, were independently associated with an increased risk of early death and death before hospital discharge: shutdown [odds ratio (95% confidence interval)] 2.4 (1.2 to 4.8) and hyperfibrinolysis 67.9 (7.4 to 624.2). CONCLUSION: The results of the current study suggest that shutdown, which is associated with injury severity and mortality, probably reflects a moderate form of coagulopathy and fibrinolysis rather than a hypercoagulopathy. Therefore, the observation of shutdown fibrinolysis on thromboelastography/rotational thromboelastometry should not lead to withholding but rather to the administration of TXA.