Improvement of quality of life (QOL) between 1 and 3-4 years after traumatic brain injury (TBI) in ICU patients.

Background: Evaluation of changes in quality of life (QOL) in ICU patients several years after traumatic brain injury (TBI) is not well documented.

Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted in all patients with TBI admitted between 2004 and 2008 to the ICU of Regional Hospital of Malaga (Spain). Functional status was evaluated by Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) and QOL by PAECC (Project for the Epidemiologic Analysis of Critical Care patients) questionnaire between 0 (normal QOL) to 29 points (worst QOL).

Relationship between quality-of-life after 1-year follow-up and severity of traumatic brain injury assessed by computerized tomography.

Purpose: This paper studies the relationship between computed tomography (CT) scan on admission, according to Marshall's tomographic classification, and quality-of-life (QoL) after 1 year in patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Methods: This study used validated scales including the Glasgow Outcome Scale and the PAECC (Project for the Epidemiologic Analysis of Critical Care Patients) QoL questionnaire.

Results: We enrolled 531 patients.

Paroxysmal sympathetic hyperactivity after acquired brain injury: consensus on conceptual definition, nomenclature, and diagnostic criteria.

A syndrome of paroxysmal, episodic sympathetic hyperactivity after acquired brain injury has been recognized for almost 60 years. This project sought to simplify the confused nomenclature for the condition (>31 eponyms) and simplify the nine overlapping sets of diagnostic criteria. A consensus-developed questionnaire based on a systematic review of the literature was circulated to a widely representative, international expert group utilizing a Delphi approach.

Paroxysmal sympathetic hyperactivity after traumatic brain injury: clinical and prognostic implications.

A proportion of patients surviving severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) have symptoms suggestive of excessive sympathetic discharge, here termed paroxysmal sympathetic hyperactivity (PSH). The goals of this study were: (1) to describe the clinical associations and radiological findings of PSH, its incidence, and features in subjects with severe TBI in the intensive care unit (ICU); (2) to investigate the potential role of increased intracranial pressure in the pathogenesis of PSH; and (3) to determine the prognostic influence of PSH during the ICU stay, on discharge from the ICU, and at 12 months post-injury. A prospective cohort study was undertaken of all ICU admissions with severe TBI older than 14 years over an 18-month period.

Seafood intoxication by tetrodotoxin: first case in Europe.

Background: Tetrodotoxin is considered the most lethal toxin in the marine environment. Prior cases of intoxication previously described correspond to consumption of tetrodotoxin in tropical or subtropical regions of Asia or the Pacific Islands.

Objectives: We present the first European case of tetrodotoxin intoxication in a patient who ingested part of a trumpet shellfish (Charonia sauliae) from the Atlantic Ocean in Southern Europe.

Prognostic influence and computed tomography findings in dysautonomic crises after traumatic brain injury.

Background: Dysautonomic crises represent a relatively unknown complication in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Few studies have been undertaken of their pathophysiology and prognostic repercussions. We studied the prevalence of dysautonomic crises after TBI, their radiologic substrate, influence on the clinical course in the intensive care unit (ICU), and effect on neurologic recovery.