What works in severe head injury?
Traumatic brain injury has an important socioeconomic impact in industrialized countries. However, well-conducted clinical trials are rare. Case-control studies have shown that prevention works. Pathophysiological understanding is becoming more complete as data on chemokines, local brain tissue oxygen tension and hypothermia accumulate. Multimodality monitoring will certainly assume greater importance in the future. Research with targeted therapeutic strategies indicates that secondary ischaemic insults can be prevented. Specific subgroups of patients with traumatic brain injury who will benefit from the use of hypothermia and barbiturates have been identified. Enteral feeding is the preferred nutritional strategy, and the follow-up period should be extended beyond the traditional 1 year.
Ferdinande
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Department of Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. patrick.ferdinande@uz.kuleuven.ac.be