Search

Background: Retinal hemorrhages (RHs) occur in inflicted traumatic brain injury (ITBI), accidental traumatic brain injury (ATBI), and some medical conditions, although the reported number, distribution, type, and frequency vary greatly between these different etiologies. We hypothesize that these RH characteristics reliably help to distinguish ITBI from ATBI and nontraumatic etiologies., Methods: A 6-year prospective observational study using wide-field retinal imaging (RetCam) was conducted within 24 hours of admission to PICU, on serially recruited children with traumatic and nontraumatic encephalopathies. "Definite" and "probable" ITBI cases were confirmed by multiagency child protection case conferences. Image analysis used digital color and grayscale images for retinal "zoning" and "layering" of hemorrhages., Results: Significant differences were found between the mean numbers of hemorrhages in ATBI/ITBI, and ITBI/nontraumatic etiologies for the 3 retinal zones (range, P = .003-.009) and for the dot-blot hemorrhages (range P = .001-.002). The mean numbers of RHs per ITBI patient in the peripapillary, macula, and peripheral zones were 14, 28, and 31 respectively. RHs in ATBI were near the optic disc and more superficial than in ITBI, where hemorrhages involved deeper layers (range, P = .003-.039) and were more peripheral (P = .03). The positive predictive value for ITBI in children <3 years with >25 dot-blot (intraretinal) hemorrhages was 93%., Conclusions: This prospective study, which included all potential causes of RHs, with objective retinal methodology, has confirmed that a young age and a high dot-blot count are strong predictors of ITBI. This high predictive value may support medicolegal deliberations.

This study aims to determine if pairing the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) with serum biomarker levels may achieve higher outcome predictive values than using either the GCS or biomarker levels alone in childhood brain trauma. Twenty-eight critically ill children with isolated accidental brain trauma were studied in a prospective observational study. The GCS was recorded at various time points post injury. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to quantify eight different serum biomarker levels (S100b, NSE, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, L-selectin, SICAM, and endothelin) on day 1 post injury. The Glasgow Outcome Score (GOS) was used to assess global outcome at 6 months post injury. Outcome predictive values of the GCS, individual biomarker levels, and paired combinations of the GCS and biomarkers were compared using receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and its multivariate extension, multivariate ROC curve (MultiROC). When using either the GCS or individual biomarker levels alone to predict unfavorable outcome, only the PICU discharge summated GCS achieved an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of more than 0.95. This high degree of outcome predictability was also achieved by pairing the GCS with a single biomarker level. The most pronounced improvement in outcome prediction was observed by pairing the post-resuscitation summated GCS with the day-1 serum IL-8 level, which increased the AUC from 0.78 to 0.98 and the sensitivity and specificity from 75% to 100% and 96% respectively. Paired combinations of the GCS and serum biomarker levels greatly enhanced the accuracy of post-traumatic unfavorable outcome prediction than may be achieved using either the GCS or individual biomarker levels alone.

Objectives: Post-traumatic hypopituitarism is well described amongst adult traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivors. We aimed to determine the prevalence and clinical significance of pituitary dysfunction after head injury in childhood., Design: Retrospective exploratory study., Patients: 33 survivors of accidental head injury (27 boys). Mean (range) age at study was 13·4 years (5·4-21·7 years) and median (range) interval since injury 4·3 years (1·4-7·8 years). Functional outcome at study: 15 good recovery, 16 moderate disability, two severe disability., Measurements: Early morning urine osmolality and basal hormone evaluation were followed by the gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) and insulin tolerance (n = 25) or glucagon tests (if previous seizures, n = 8). Subjects were not primed. Head injury details were extracted from patient records., Results: No subject had short stature (mean height SD score +0·50, range -1·57 to +3·00). Suboptimal GH responses (<5 μg/l) occurred in six peri-pubertal boys (one with slow growth on follow-up) and one postpubertal adolescent (peak GH 3·2 μg/l). Median peak cortisol responses to insulin tolerance or glucagon tests were 538 and 562 nm. Nine of twenty-five and two of eight subjects had suboptimal responses, respectively, two with high basal cortisol levels. None required routine glucocorticoid replacement. In three, steroid cover was recommended for moderate/severe illness or injury. One boy was prolactin deficient. Other basal endocrine results and GnRH-stimulated LH and FSH were appropriate for age, sex and pubertal stage. Abnormal endocrine findings were unrelated to the severity or other characteristics of TBI or functional outcome., Conclusions: No clinically significant endocrinopathy was identified amongst survivors of accidental childhood TBI, although minor pituitary hormone abnormalities were observed., (© 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.)

Many potential brain trauma biomarkers have been reported, but no previous study has described outcome prediction using combinations of biomarker levels. We aimed to investigate the outcome predictive values of multiple biomarkers from different mediator families and to determine whether combinations of two serum biomarkers may achieve higher outcome predictive values than individual biomarker levels. A prospective observational study was conducted involving 28 children requiring intensive care management following brain trauma. Day 1 post-injury serum concentrations of eight different biomarkers--S100b protein (S100b), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), interleukin-10 (IL-10), soluble intracellular adhesion molecule (SICAM), L-selectin, and endothelin--were quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Global outcome was assessed at 6 months post-injury using the Glasgow Outcome Score (GOS). Receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC) analysis and its multivariate extension, Multivariate ROC (MultiROC), were used to assess the outcome predictive values of the individual and the paired biomarkers. None of the eight biomarkers assessed individually achieved an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of more than 0.95 for predicting unfavorable outcome, but five of the 20 biomarker pairs assessed had this high degree of outcome predictability. Two combinations using S100b as the "screening marker" and either L-selectin or IL-6 as the "varying marker" achieved an AUC of 0.98, and their specificity and sensitivity for unfavorable outcome prediction were 96% and 100%, respectively. Prognostic pairs combining serum levels of two biomarkers (inflammatory mediators and brain-specific proteins) offer better outcome predictive values for unfavorable outcome after childhood brain trauma than may be achieved using individual marker levels.

Objective: To report the use of high frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) in two children with severe traumatic brain injury and concurrent lung pathology where conventional mechanical ventilation was ineffective., Design: : Case report., Setting: Regional intensive care unit in a pediatric teaching hospital., Patients: Two severely head-injured children (both with postresuscitation Glasgow Coma Scores of 3), one of whom was age 11 yrs and developed an invasive fungal (rhizomucor) pneumonia, while the other age 5 yrs had bilateral lung contusions. Both were treated according to local head injury guidelines, which included conventional ventilation. Despite increasing conventional ventilatory support, CO2 removal became problematic in both cases, making the intracranial pressure control and consequent maintenance of adequate cerebral perfusion pressure difficult. In both patients, a dramatic reduction in intracranial pressure and improvement in cerebral perfusion pressure was observed soon after the use of HFOV. Additionally, inotropic support was weaned by 50% in both children after commencing HFOV. A significant increase in the mean arterial blood pressure occurred in one child with HFOV., Intervention: Use of HFOV as an alternative to conventional mechanical ventilation., Conclusion: HFOV may have utility in the management of selected cases of severe brain trauma with concurrent lung pathology where conventional ventilation is ineffective.

Objective: There is limited information regarding the long-term outcome of inflicted traumatic brain injury (TBI), including shaken infant syndrome. The purpose of this study was to describe the long-term neurologic, behavioral, and cognitive sequelae seen in this population., Methods: A cross-sectional and prospective longitudinal study was conducted of 25 children with inflicted TBI in Scotland between 1980 and 1999. After consent was obtained, neurologic and cognitive examinations were performed on all participants and sequentially in the prospective cohort. Two global outcome measures were used: Glasgow Outcome Score (GOS) and Seshia's outcome score. Cognitive outcome was assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, British Ability Scales, and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales., Results: The mean length of follow-up was 59 months. A total of 68% of survivors were abnormal on follow-up, 36% had severe difficulties and were totally dependant, 16% had moderate difficulties, and 16% had mild difficulties on follow-up. A wide range of neurologic sequelae were seen, including motor deficits (60%), visual deficits (48%), epilepsy (20%), speech and language abnormalities (64%), and behavioral problems (52%). There was a wide range of cognitive abilities: the mean psychomotor index, 69.9 (SD: +/-25.73); and mean mental development index, 74.53 (SD: +/-28.55). Adaptive functioning showed a wide range of difficulties across all domains: communication domain (mean: 76.1; SD: +/-25.4), Daily living skills domain (mean: 76.9; SD: +/-24.3), and socialization domain (mean: 79.1; SD: +/-23.1). Outcome was found to correlate with the Pediatric Trauma Score and the Glasgow Coma Score but did not correlate with age at injury or mechanism of injury., Conclusions: Inflicted TBI has a very poor prognosis and correlates with severity of injury. Extended follow-up is necessary so as not to underestimate problems such as specific learning difficulties and attentional and memory problems that may become apparent only once the child is in school. Behavioral problems are present in 52% and begin to manifest clinically between the second and third years of life, although the consequences of frontal lobe injury may be underestimated unless follow-up is extended into adolescence and early adulthood.

Aim: To explore the relationship between raised intracranial pressure (RICP) and retinal haemorrhages in traumatic and non-traumatic childhood encephalopathies.Method: A prospective study of 112 children (35 females and 77 males, age range 0.01mo-17y 8.3mo; mean 5y 8.6mo, median 4y 5.6mo) included 57 accidental traumatic brain injuries (ATBIs), 21 inflicted traumatic brain injuries (ITBIs), and 34 non-traumatic encephalopathy cases. Measurements included intracranial pressure (ICP), cerebral perfusion pressure, pressure-time index of ICP, and number, zone, and layer of retinal haemorrhages on retinal imaging.Results: Group I had measured elevated ICP (n=42), Group II had clinical and/or radiological signs of RICP (n=21), and Group III had normal ICP (n=49). In the combined Groups I and II, 38% had retinal haemorrhages. Multiple logistic regression confirmed that the presence of retinal haemorrhages was significantly related to the presence of RICP independent of age and aetiology; however, the occurrence and overall numbers were not significantly related to the specific ICP level. The numbers of intraretinal (nerve-fibre layer and dot blot) retinal haemorrhages were significantly greater in those with RICP. The ITBI population was significantly different from the other combined aetiological categories.Interpretation: The study results indicate a complex RICP/retinal haemorrhage relationship. There was no evidence of existing retinal haemorrhages being exacerbated or new retinal haemorrhages developing during periods of confirmed RICP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Preterm infants receiving supplemental oxygen therapy experience frequent fluctuations in their blood oxygen levels, the magnitude of which has been associated with the incidence and severity of retinopathy of prematurity in such infants. Objective: Our objective was to investigate in a relevant animal model whether the immature brain with its poorly vascularised white matter might also be susceptible to injury when exposed to such fluctuations in blood oxygen. Methods: Newborn rats were reared in an atmosphere in which a computer reproduced the oxygen fluctuations derived from the transcutaneous oxygen levels of a 24-week preterm infant who had developed severe retinopathy. Following 14 days of exposure, we measured the expression of active caspase-3, myelin basic protein (MBP) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in the brains comparing with rat pups raised in room air. Results: Compared to room air controls, at day 14, the expression of active caspase-3 was increased by up to 162% (significant increase in 7 of 9 regions), MBP decreased by up to 70% (significant in the hypothalamus only) and GFAP increased by up to 103% (significant in 6 of 7 regions. On day 21, following 7 days of reparative recovery, GFAP levels in most areas of oxygen-exposed brains had returned to near control levels. There were no longer significant differences in caspase-3 levels apart from the cerebral cortex, cerebellum and striatum. In contrast, MBP expression was now much higher in most regions of the treated brains compared to controls. Conclusion: We conclude that fluctuations in blood oxygen, observed in preterm survivors, may constitute a source of injury to the white matter and corpus striatum of the developing brain and contribute to the neurological sequelae in extremely premature infants. Copyright © 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]