Articles: traumatic-brain-injuries.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Aug 2016
A Qualitative Study Exploring Factors Associated with Provider Adherence to Severe Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury Guidelines.
Despite demonstrated improvement in patient outcomes with use of the Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Guidelines (Guidelines), there are differential rates of adherence. Provider perspectives on barriers and facilitators to adherence have not been elucidated. This study aimed to identify and explore in depth the provider perspective on factors associated with adherence to the Guidelines using 19 focus groups with nurses and physicians who provided acute management for pediatric patients with TBI at five university-affiliated Level 1 trauma centers. ⋯ Provider training and experience, as well as attitudes towards other standardized care protocols, mirror the use and attitudes towards the Guidelines. Adherence was determined by the interaction of each of these guideline, institutional, and provider factors acting in concert. Incorporating provider perspectives on barriers and facilitators to adherence into hospital and team protocols is an important step toward improving adherence and ultimately patient outcomes.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Aug 2016
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyExternal validation of the IMPACT prognostic models for traumatic brain injury on the SyNAPSe trial.
Prediction models for patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) are important for multiple reasons, including case-mix adjustment, trial design, and benchmarking for quality-of-care evaluation. Models should be generalizable and therefore require regular external validation. We aimed to validate the International Mission for Prognosis and Analysis of Clinical Trials in TBI (IMPACT) prognostic models for moderate and severe TBI in a recent randomized controlled trial. ⋯ This pattern of miscalibration was consistent across all three models. In a contemporary trial setting, the IMPACT models have reasonable discrimination if enrollment restrictions apply. Observed changes in outcome distribution necessitate updating of previously developed prognostic models.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Aug 2016
ReviewA State of the Science Overview of Randomised Controlled Trials evaluating Acute Management of Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury.
Moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains a major global challenge, with rising incidence, unchanging mortality and lifelong impairments. State-of-the-science reviews are important for research planning and clinical decision support. This review aimed to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating interventions for acute management of moderate/severe TBI, synthesize key RCT characteristics and findings, and determine their implications on clinical practice and future research. ⋯ Considerable investment of resources in producing 191 completed RCTs for acute TBI management has resulted in very little translatable evidence. This may result from broad distribution of research effort, small samples, preponderance of single-center RCTs, and methodological shortcomings. More sophisticated RCT design, large multi-center RCTs in priority areas, increased focus on pre-clinical research, and alternatives to RCTs, such as comparative effectiveness research and precision medicine, are needed to fully realize the potential of acute TBI research to benefit patients.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Aug 2016
Multicenter StudyNeuroendocrine disturbances one to five or more years after traumatic brain injury and aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage - data from the German Database on Hypopituitarism.
Neuroendocrine disturbances are common after traumatic brain injury (TBI) and aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), but only a few data exist on long-term anterior pituitary deficiencies after brain injury. We present data from the Structured Data Assessment of Hypopituitarism after TBI and SAH, a multi-center study including 1242 patients. We studied a subgroup of 351 patients, who had sustained a TBI (245) or SAH (106) at least 1 year before endocrine assessment (range 1-55 years) in a separate analysis. ⋯ In patients observed ≥ 5 years after brain injury, the prevalence of somatotropic insufficiency increased over time to 24.1%, whereas corticotropic and thyrotrophic insufficiency became less frequent (2.5% and 0%, respectively). The prevalence differed regarding the diagnostic criteria (laboratory values vs. physician`s diagnosis vs. stimulation tests). Our data showed that neuroendocrine disturbances are frequent even years after TBI or SAH, in a cohort of patients who are still on medical treatment.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Aug 2016
Resuscitation With Valproic Acid Alters Inflammatory Genes in a Porcine Model of Combined Traumatic Brain Injury and Hemorrhagic Shock.
Traumatic brain injury and hemorrhagic shock (TBI+HS) elicit a complex inflammatory response that contributes to secondary brain injury. There is currently no proven pharmacologic treatment for TBI+HS, but modulation of the epigenome has been shown to be a promising strategy. The aim of this study was to investigate whether valproic acid (VPA), a histone deacetylase inhibitor, modulates the expression of cerebral inflammatory gene profiles in a large animal model of TBI+HS. ⋯ DAVID analysis indicated that a cluster of inflammatory pathways held the highest rank and gene enrichment score. Real-time PCR data confirmed that VPA significantly down-expressed genes that ultimately regulate nuclear factor-kB (NF-kB)-mediated production of cytokines, such as TYROBP, TREM2, CCR1, and IL-1β. This high-throughput analysis of cerebral gene expression shows that addition of VPA to the resuscitation protocol significantly modulates the expression of inflammatory pathways in a clinically realistic model of TBI+HS.