Minor,moderate and severe head injury

Summary The future role of the neurosurgeon in the management of head injury is reviewed in terms of the care of patients with minor, moderate and severe head injuries. In minor head injury it is predicted that there will be increasing pressure on the neurosurgeon to undertake the management and follow-up of all patients who have sustained head injury, and this will place a considerable additional load on each neurosurgical unit. This is based on a survey of 1919 head injuries admitted in one calendar year (1981), consisting of 93 severe injuries (GCS < 8), 210 moderate injuries (GCS 8–12), and 1616 minor injuries (GCS 13/14). In moderate injuries CT will assume a major role in detecting hematoma early and identifying contusions. There may yet be a role for steroids in these cases and there should be a greater use of neurorehabilitation, instead of the current overemphasis on the severely injured. In severe injury future efforts will be to prevent early secondary insults and to find better methods of controlling raised intracranial pressure.     

实验冻伤大鼠神经纤维的超微结构改变

为探讨冷冻损伤发生、发展及转归的规律，采用健康Ｗｉｓｔａｒ大鼠，分为冻伤组（２０只）和对照组（５只）。电镜下观察大鼠后肢冷冻至－２０℃后即刻、４小时、２４小时及７２小时时周围神经的超微结构改变。冻后即刻，神经髓鞘即出现轻度变性；冻后１～２４小时，有髓神经雪旺细胞及轴突严重变性，而无髓神经变性较轻；冻后７２小时，神经溃变及修复并存，无髓神经较有髓神经易于修复。     

All-trans retinoic acid suppresses liver injury induced by Propionibacterium acnes and lipopolysaccharide in rats

All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) has been reported to exert major effects on the immune system, including monocytes/macrophages. The present study was designed to determine whether ATRA would modulate macrophage-associated liver injury induced by Propionibacterium acnes and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in rats. All-trans retinoic acid administration alleviated the liver injury and reduced the incidence of death following hepatic failure. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels 5 h after, and survival rates within 12 h after the administration of LPS were significantly lower in the ATRA-treated group (134 ± 119 IU/L and 72.7%) compared with the control group (713 ± 411 IU/L and 18.2%; P < 0.05). Histological findings supported these results. These effects may be due to suppression of tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and superoxide anions produced by activated macrophages. Serum levels of TNF-α 1 h after LPS administration were significantly lower in the ATRA-treated group (60.5 ± 7.0 ng/mL) as compared with the control group (105.2 ± 39.3 ng/mL; P < 0.05). Formazan deposition that was generated by the perfusion of the liver with nitroblue tetrazolium, also suggested suppression of the release of superoxide anions from hepatic macrophages. These results suggest that ATRA acts as an immunomodulator in liver injury by suppressing the activation of liver macrophages.     

Attitudes of College Football Officials Regarding NCAA Mouthguard Regulations and Player Compliance

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) mandates the use of brightly colored, intraoral mouth- guards by football players to reduce the frequency and severity of craniofacial and intraoral morbidity and mortality, and to enhance the ability of officials to observe player compliance. The purpose of this 12-question mail survey was to determine the attitudes of on-Held game officials regarding current NCAA mouthguard regulations and patterns of utilization by college football players. The sample consisted of all 50 Big East Football Conference officials; a response rate of 100 percent was achieved. Only 42 percent of the officials reported observing all players in compliance, and quarterbacks were identified by others as the least compliant group (52%). The majority (88%) indicated that the 1990 rule for brightly colored mouthguards had been beneficial to them in determining player compliance, and 52 percent reported that this rule had resulted in more frequent use by these athletes. Nearly all officials (96%) indicated that they would issue a warning for noncompliance to the player or coach, rather than charging a timeout for a violation as prescribed by NCAA regulations. The majority (70%) believe current enforcement is appropriate, but expressed the opinion that coaches should be held more accountable for player compliance.     

经颅多普勒频谱参数与急性颅脑损伤患者颅内压的关系

目的探讨急性颅脑损伤患者的经颅多普勒频谱参数与颅内压的关系。方法应用TCD检测20例急性中、重型颅脑损伤患者双侧大脑中动脉,同时行颅内压监测。结果经颅多普勒频谱参数cf、PI、af、RI、ae均和ICP正相关,Vd、ac和ICP负相关,其中cf与ICP的相关系数最大。建立TCD相关参数与ICP的多元线性回归方程:ICP=0.312MAP-1.531Vd+21.437PI-15.059ac+38.722cf(P<0.001,R2=0.920估计值的标准差=4.0972mmHg)。结论经颅多谱勒频谱参数可以反应颅脑损伤患者的颅内压的改变。综合研究经颅多谱勒频谱参数、血压与颅内压的关系是应用经颅多普勒无创监测颅内压的方向。     

Alcohol and drug use following traumatic brain injury: A prospective study

Primary objectives: To establish pre-morbid alcohol and drug use in persons with TBI, relative to controls, investigate how patterns of substance use change over time following TBI and identify factors associated with heavy post-injury substance use.

Methods and procedures: The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification test (AUDIT) and Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST) was completed by 121 hospital inpatients with TBI, documenting pre-injury alcohol and drug use, and 133 demographically similar controls. Participants with TBI completed these measures and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) again 1 and 2 years post-injury and 76 also completed them at 3 years.

Results: Participants with TBI showed similar levels of drug and alcohol use to controls pre-injury, with 31.4% of the TBI group and 29.3% of controls drinking at hazardous levels. Alcohol and drug use declined in the first year post-injury, but increased by 2 years post-injury, with only 21.4% of participants with TBI reporting abstinence from alcohol and 25.4% drinking at hazardous levels. Only 9% showed a drug problem, but 24% had returned to some drug use. Those showing heavy alcohol use post-injury were young, male and heavy drinkers pre-injury. Drug and alcohol use was similar at 3 years post-injury.

Conclusions: More active intervention is needed to reduce alcohol and drug use following TBI.     

Memory outcome at 5 years post-childhood traumatic brain injury

Primary objective: This study seeks to extend previous findings by documenting memory performance in a sample of 70 children at 5 years post-injury. It was anticipated that increasing injury severity would be associated with decreased performance on working and complex memory tasks. It was also expected that injury severity would significantly predict memory, but that the time from insult to subsequent testing would be associated with an increased relationship to non-injury factors.

Research design: Participants were assessed at 5 years post-injury, aged between 6-14 years, using measures of immediate, working and complex memory.

Methods and procedures: The sample comprised 18 children who had sustained a severe TBI, 24 with a moderate TBI, 11 with a mild TBI and 17 healthy controls, matched for age, gender and socio-economic-status.

Results: Results indicated that severe TBI was associated with decreased complex auditory-verbal memory performance, although children with TBI did not display impairment on immediate, working or complex visual-spatial memory. While injury severity significantly predicted complex memory outcome, non-injury factors failed to significantly predict either working or complex memory performance.

Conclusions: Future research should be engineered towards further clarifying what influences recovery from childhood TBI in the elongated post-injury period.     

Nonepileptic Posttraumatic Seizures

Summary: Purpose: Epileptic posttraumatic seizures (PTSs) are a well-recognized consequence of head injury (HI), but HI and nonepileptic seizures (NESs) have not been related. We describe a significant subset of patients with NESs who had their seizures attributed to HI.
Methods: We reviewed the records of all patients diagnosed with NES at the University of Maryland Medical Center over a 6-year period (1989–1995) and selected patients with seizures attributed to a head injury occurring ≥3 years before the onset of their seizures.
Results: Of 157 patients with video-EEG confirmed NES, 37 (24%) had the onset of their seizures attributed to an HI. Their average age was 34 years (range, 15–56 years); 68% were women. Nonepileptic PTS usually developed within the first year after HI (89%). Convulsive symptoms were present in 54%. Whereas epileptic PTSs characteristically follow severe HI, the majority (78%) of our patients with nonepileptic PTSs sustained only mild HI. Before their HI, 76% of our patients were employed, working in the home, or students, but only 11% could continue those activities after developing nonepileptic PTSs.
Conclusions: Nonepileptic PTSs are frequently mistaken for epileptic PTSs and result in serious disability. The misdiagnosis of nonepileptic PTSs leads to ineffective and inappropriate treatment. Patients with intractable seizures after HIS, articularly mild HIS, should be carefully evaluated for NESs.