Objective: Although secondary insults such as raised intracranial pressure (ICP) or cardiovascular compromise strongly contribute to morbidity, a growing interest can be noticed in how the pre-hospital management can affect outcomes after traumatic brain injury (TBI). The objective of this study was to determine whether pre-hospital co-morbidity has influence on patterns of continuously measured waveforms of intracranial physiology after paediatric TBI.
Materials and methods: Thirty-nine patients (mean age, 10 years; range, 0.5-15) admitted between 2002 and 2015 were used for the current analysis. Pre-hospital motor score, pupil reactivity, pre-hospital hypoxia (SpO2 < 90%) and hypotension (mean arterial pressure < 70 mmHg) were documented. ICP and arterial blood pressure (ABP) were monitored continuously with an intraparenchymal microtransducer and an indwelling arterial line. Pressure monitors were connected to bedside computers running ICM+ software. Pressure reactivity was determined as the moving correlation between 30 10-s averages of ABP and ICP (PRx). The mean ICP and PRx were calculated for the whole monitoring period for each patient.
Results: Those with pre-hospital hypotension were susceptible to higher ICP [20 (IQR 8) vs 13 (IQR 6) mmHg; p = 0.01] and more frequent ICP plateau waves [median = 0 (IQR 1), median = 4 (IQR 9); p = 0.001], despite having similar MAP, CPP and PRx during monitoring. Those with unreactive pupils tended to have higher ICP than those with reactive pupils (18 vs 14 mmHg, p = 0.08). Pre-hospital hypoxia, motor score and pupillary reactivity were not related to subsequent monitored intracranial or systemic physiology.
Conclusion: In paediatric TBI, pre-hospital hypotension is associated with increased ICP in the intensive care unit.
Keywords: Brain; ICP; Injury; Pre-hospital.