• Fevzullah Akyüz, Merih Iş, Hikmet Aytekin, Murat Anlar, and Osman Akgül.
• Department of Neurosurgery, Düzce Atatürk State Hospital, Düzce, Turkey.
• Ulus Travma Acil Cer. 2013 Mar 1;19(2):89-97.

BackgroundTraumatic brain edema is one of the most common problems encountered in neurosurgical practice and it leads to morbidity and mortality via increased intracranial pressure. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of hypertonic saline on traumatic brain edema in comparison to mannitol.MethodsEighty adult male Sprauge-Dawley rats weighting 300-350 g were used in this experimental study. Rats were randomly divided into control (C); trauma (T); mannitol only trauma+mannitol; NaCl 3% only; Trauma+NaCl 3%; NaCl 7.5% only; trauma+NaCl 7.5%; NaCl 23.4% only and trauma+NaCl 23.4% groups. All medications were given intraperitoneally. Rats were sacrificed and decapitated 24 hours after trauma with or without medications and the brains were examined histopatologically.ResultsAlthough no difference was observed with regard to hemorrhage between trauma only and trauma+NaCl 23.4% groups, there was a statistically significant difference in brain edema within these two groups (p=0.003). There were no statistically significant differences within groups with respect to plasma osmolarity and serum sodium levels.ConclusionThis study demonstrates that 23.4% NaCl is more effective than other concentrations of hypertonic saline or mannitol in the prevention of posttraumatic brain edema. Further clinical studies with different dosages and concentrations of hypertonic saline are required.

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