Week 10: Head injuries

Topics to consider

• Head injury – a multiplicity of diseases with differing treatments and outcomes

• Initial management of TBI

• ICP monitoring – when? Why? What to do when it goes up?

• EVDs (and lumbar drains) – when? Why? How to adjust?

• Managing the patient who isn’t waking up

Resources

• Updated BJAEd article on TBI (and the original written by our medical director Dr Girling)

• Management of head injury (ATOTW)

• Neuro-ICU monitoring (BJAEd)

• ICP and head injuries (AnaesthesiaUK)

• ECG abnormalities with raised ICP (LITFL)

• Osmotherapy for raised ICP (BJAEd) and everything you wanted to know about osmotherapy (EMCrit)

• Management of devastating brain injuries (FICM, lead by Dr Harvey)

• Neurotransfer guidelines (AAGBI, lead by local neuroanaesthetics consultant Dr Nathanson)

• A more academic overview of critical care management of traumatic brain injury (Prof Menon and Dr Ercole)

Key trials and guidelines

• Steroids: CRASH-1, DexCSD

• TXA: CRASH-3

• Temperature control: Eurotherm3235, POLAR

• Surgical intervention: RESCUEicp, STITCH

• ICP monitoring: BEST:TRIP, SYNAPSE-ICU

• Other drugs: Propanolol (great review by Dr Swindin), EPO

Have we missed something?

Know a great resource or teaching aid that we've missed? Let us know and help make this page even better.