Review of 1,000 consecutive cases of severe head injury treated before the advent of CT scanning

Summary This is a review of 1,000 consecutive cases of severe head injury admitted to our Neurosurgical Department between January 1973 and August 1976, before the advent of CT scanning. All patients were comatose following head injury (GCS8) and were treated homogeneously by the same neurosurgical team by a protocol that included immediate resuscitation on arrival, diagnosis of intracranial lesions by angiography, early surgery when needed, mechanical ventilation, steroids, and mannitol. Extracranial lesions, even if preponderant, were treated by various specialists in the Neurosurgical Department, which for all practical purposes operated as an Emergency Department. Admission criteria were very broad with no preadmission selection. The overall mortality for this series was 45%. A little less than half the patients made good recoveries or remained moderately disabled (47%); 6% were severely disabled, and 2% survived in a persistent vegetative state. More than two-thirds of the patients were brought to our Neurosurgical Department after a short stay at a general hospital; 72% were admitted within 6 hours of injury; 71% were traffic accident victims; and 34% had significant associated extracranial injuries. Carotid angiography was performed in 78% of the patients and indicated the presence of an intracranial haematoma requiring surgery in 36% of the whole series. Mortality was significantly higher in operated than in unoperated patients (56% versus 39%); those treated surgically, however, were older, in worse clinical condition, and showed a higher incidence of acute subdural haematomas associated with brain contusion. Carotid angiography proved very effective in revealing the presence of an expansive lesion but failed to reflect the severity of brain damage, since the group with negative angiograms showed a high mortality (52%). Patients with a lucid interval had a higher percentage of surgical lesions than those with immediate coma (58% versus 26%); but fully 42% of them did not require surgery, and 25% had negative angiograms. From the prognostic point of view the clinical data elicited after initial resuscitation were highly predictive of the outcome: some individual neurological signs, such as mydriasis, posturing and eye movements, were not inferior to the GCS score in that respect. Age also proved a strong predictor, since elderly patients are more likely to have severe subdural and parenchymal lesions and their clinical severity is accordingly greater.Our series amounts to a data bank of cases both contemporary to and in good agreement with that collected by Jennett and his associates in their 1977 multinational study; and it affords a useful reference in the assessment of epidemiological variations and alternative management in relation to outcome.     

The effects of bright light treatment on subjective and objective sleepiness during three consecutive night shifts among hospital nurses – a counter-balanced placebo-controlled crossover study

Objectives:The objective was to investigate effects of timed bright light treatment on subjective and objective measures of sleepiness during three consecutive night shifts among hospital nurses.Methods:Thirty-five nurses were exposed to bright light (10,000 lux) and red dim light (100 lux) during three consecutive night shifts in a counter-balanced crossover trial lasting nine days, which included three days before and three days after the three night shifts. Light exposure for 30 minutes was scheduled between 02:00–03:00 hours on night 1, and thereafter delayed by one hour per night in order to delay the circadian rhythm. Subjective sleepiness was measured daily (heavy eyelids, reduced performance) and every second hour while awake (Karolinska Sleepiness Scale, KSS). Objective sleepiness (Psychomotor Vigilance Task, PVT) was measured at 05:00 hours during each night shift. Beyond nocturnal light exposure on the night shifts, no behavioral restrictions or recommendations were given at or off work.Results:Bright light treatment significantly reduced heavy eyelids during night shifts. However, results on KSS and PVT were unaffected by bright light. There were no differences in subjective sleepiness during the three days following the night shifts.Conclusions:This bright light treatment protocol did not convincingly reduce sleepiness among nurses during three consecutive night shifts. Nor did bright light impede the readaptation back to a day-oriented rhythm following the night shift period. Too few consecutive night shifts, inappropriate timing of light, and possible use of other countermeasures are among the explanations for the limited effects of bright light in the present study.     

Effect of acute ammonia intoxication on energy stores in the cerebral reticular activating system

Summary Ammonia intoxication causes loss of consciousness. One postulated mechanism for this stipulates impaired energy metabolism in critical brain sites. The ascending reticular activating system in the brainstem may modulate consciousness. Accordingly, the present study, using micromethods, assessed energy stores in cells from the reticular activating system of mice acutely intoxicated with ammonia. In the early coma period (3.5 min after ammonia) phosphocreatine, adenosine triphosphate and glucose fell significantly while glycogen decreased later. Subsequently during coma, the high energy phosphates returned to normal and supranormal. The maximal fall in these metabolites was not accompanied by a rise in lactate, implying lack of local hypoxia or acidosis. The cells of the posterior colliculus in the same animals failed to show a significant fall in energy stores. These data suggest a selective effect of ammonia on energy metabolism in the cells of the reticular activating system of the brainstem.Abbreviations NH Ammonia - ATP Adenosine Triphosphate - PC Phosphocreatine - RAS Reticular Activating System Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association of the Study of the Liver Disease, Chicago, 1980Supported in part by USPHS Grant N.S. 16621     

中西医结合对重症脑外伤昏迷病人促苏醒疗效观察

目的 :探讨醒脑开窍疗法对治疗重症颅脑损伤患者促苏醒作用以及对预后的影响。方法 :将 80例颅脑损伤患者 (GCS≤ 8)随机分成 2组 ,治疗组 4 0例 (在常规治疗基础上加用中药针刺疗法 ) ;对照组 4 0例。两组于伤后 1月按GCS预后评分评定预后 ,两组在促醒后 1月内意识好转率作一比较。结果 :治疗组预后恢复良好为 87 5 % ,显著高于对照组 6 2 5 % ,P <0 0 1;两组病死率差异无显著性意义 (P >0 0 5 )。治疗组 1月内清醒 32例 ,对照组 2 0例 ,P <0 0 1。结论 :中西医结合疗法在治疗重症脑外伤昏迷患者时 ,能加速促醒和提高生存质量。     

Long-term follow up of children with head injuries-classified as “good recovery” using the Glasgow Outcome Scale: neurological, neuropsychological and magnetic resonance imaging results

The primary issues addressed in this study were: (1) determination of the significance of the classification “good outcome” utilizing the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) in children at least 1 year after brain injury; (2) detection of residual lesions of brain parenchyma in these children upon follow up MRI scans; and (3) detection of relationships between neuropsychological test performance and MRI results. Selection criteria included children 6–15 years of age at the time of testing who received an initial CT scan at the time of their head injury and who had been injured at least 12 months prior to the follow up test. Only children who did not demonstrate neurological disability at the time of follow up examination were selected. The children showed a status of “good outcome” as defined by the GOS. Neurological examination, neuropsychological tests and an MRI were done. The test results of 59 patients were compared to those of a matched control group. Children, after receiving head injuries, showed significantly poorer results with respect to cognitive, motor and fine motor skills. Of all MRI-scans 66% revealed pathological findings. Cortical lesions were detected on MRI in 14% of cases; subcortical injuries were detected in 12% and, deep white matter lesions in 31%. Furthermore, corpus callosum damage was observed in 26% of cases. Pathological MRI findings were also observed in children with mild head injuries. All of the children with normal MRI findings showed abilities comparable to those of children in the control group. Patients with cortical lesions exhibited only motor deficits, whereas motor and cognitive deficits were seen in patients with deep white matter lesions. Children with multiple lesions demonstrated test results in all variables 1 to 2 standard deviations below those of the control group. Conclusions Children suffering a brain injury who 1 year later are classified within the “good outcome” group according to the Glasgow Outcome Scale often have significant morphological and functional brain deficits. Received: 6 January 1996 /  Accepted: 10 August 1996     

Symptom dimensions in recent-onset schizophrenia and mania: a principal components analysis of the 24-item Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale

Previous four- and five-factor solutions of the 18-item Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) suggested the possibility of an affective dimension in psychosis. A principal components analysis was used to analyze psychiatric symptom data rated on an expanded 24-item version of the BPRS. BPRS data were collected during a period of acute psychotic and affective illness with 114 young adult, recent-onset schizophrenia and schizoaffective patients and 27 bipolar manic patients. Principal components analyses of the 18-item and 24-item BPRS indicated a four-factor solution was the most interpretable. Principal components analysis of the 24-item BPRS produced a clear mania factor characterized by high loadings from items added to the 18-item BPRS, which included elevated mood, motor hyperactivity, and distractibility. This factor solution suggests that the 24-item BPRS allows for an expanded assessment of affective symptoms relating to a manic dimension. Potentially important symptoms that were added to the traditional 18-item version, namely suicidality, bizarre behavior, and self-neglect, also make clear contributions to other factors.     

Brunnstrom运动分期综合治疗脑梗死初探

目的:评估针刺结合推拿和康复治疗脑梗死神经功能、日常生活活动能力。方法:43例均采用西医对症治疗,同时进行针刺、推拿和康复治疗。结果:针刺治疗前、第20、40次针刺治疗后斯堪的纳雏亚卒中量表评分依次升高(P<0．01), Brarthel指数也依次升高(P<0．01)。结论:针刺结合推拿和康复治疗可明显改善脑梗死患者神经功能和日常生活活动能力。     

ICD术后患者生存质量及心理状况的调查研究

目的了解植入型心律转复除颤器（implantable cardioverter defibrillator, ICD）置人术后患者生存质量（quality of life,QOL）及心理状况。方法对2012年1月-2013年1月在我院植入ICD的患者及正常人群各67例,应用MOSSF-36量表及SCL-90症状自评量表分别对整体QOL及心理QOL进行调查。结果ICD术后患者QOL的评分比正常人群低,而心理QOL评分在ICD术后患者中比正常人群高,二者之间比较差异有统计学意义（P〈0．05）。在ICD患者中,是否放电、病程长短（以3年为分界点）是QOL及心理状况的影响因素,差异具有统计学意义（P〈0．05）,而两者间性别差异则无统计学意义。结论ICD术后患者的QOL评分整体低于正常人,心理状况评分高于正常人,说明ICD患者合并心理疾病如压抑、焦虑、恐慌,尤其是ICD植入术后放电的部分患者,需要医护人员在日常临床工作中注意干预。病程长短主要对心理因素产生影响,因此对于病程较长的患者需要加强心理干预,以进一步改善ICD术后患者的QOL。