Publications by authors named "Monica Vavilala"

Purpose Of Review: We examine what is known, what is new, and what is emerging in acute neurotrauma relevant to the anesthesiologist.

Recent Findings: Timely and goal-directed care is critical for all patients requiring urgent/emergent anesthesia care. Anesthesia care for acute neurological injury should incorporate understanding the evolution of traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury that translates to preoperative preparation, hemodynamic resuscitation, prevention of second insults, and safe transport between care settings.

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Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a complex condition and a leading cause of injury-related disability and death, with significant impacts on patient outcomes. Extracranial organ involvement plays a critical role in the outcome of patients following TBI. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the pathophysiology, clinical presentation, and challenges in diagnosing patients with autonomic dysfunction after TBI.

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Background: Early left ventricular systolic dysfunction is common after moderate-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Echocardiography (Echo) can evaluate cardiac function across various clinical scenarios; however, its utilization in isolated TBI remains poorly understood. To address this gap, we aim to examine Echo utilization in hospitalized adults with isolated TBI.

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Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) disrupts normal brain tissue and functions, leading to high mortality and disability. Severe TBI (sTBI) causes prolonged cognitive, functional, and multi-organ dysfunction. Dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) after sTBI can induce abnormalities in multiple organ systems, contributing to cardiovascular dysregulation and increased mortality.

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Article Synopsis
  • Prompt emergence from general anesthesia is essential after neurosurgery to identify complications quickly; delays can occur due to anesthetics, metabolic issues, or intracranial problems.
  • The sunset sign—downward eye deviation—can indicate increased intracranial pressure or midbrain issues, commonly seen in conditions like hydrocephalus.
  • In a case study, a woman with a pineal mass showed delayed awakening and the sunset sign after surgery, leading to a CT scan that revealed tension pneumocephalus causing midbrain compression with critically high intracranial pressure.
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Background: Youth concussion is common but there is a paucity of information on symptoms students report to school personnel and a gap in understanding what accommodations schools can provide.

Objective: To examine symptoms and provision of temporary accommodations in schools for students reporting concussion symptoms.

Design: Secondary data analysis of a trial implementing an evidence-based student-centered return to learn (RTL) program.

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Background: Cardiac arrest (CA) in pediatric traumatic brain injury (pTBI) is associated with morbidity. Our objective is to investigate the incidence, risk factors, and outcomes for CA following pTBI.

Methods: The Kid Inpatient Database (KID) was queried for patients with pTBI.

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Background: Trauma-induced coagulopathy (TIC) is associated with negative outcomes. Pediatric TIC has been described most often in older children. Children undergo normal developmental hemostasis, but it is unknown how this process impacts the risk of TIC across childhood.

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Background: Recent studies suggest Black patients are transfused less often and at lower hemoglobin levels than White patients. In elective surgery, Black and Non-White patients have greater estimated blood loss and transfusion frequency. We asked whether similar transfusion disparities are observable in acute trauma resuscitation.

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Objectives: We asked how increasing age interacts with transfusion and mortality among older injured adults at our large regional trauma center.

Background: Older adults are increasing proportions of acute trauma care and transfusion, but the specific interactions of increasing age with blood product use are unclear.

Methods/materials: Trauma data (age, injury severity, mechanism, etc.

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Article Synopsis
  • Trauma, particularly traumatic brain injury (TBI), is a significant cause of maternal mortality during pregnancy, yet there is a lack of guidelines for managing these cases.
  • An international survey with 122 physicians from 110 centers revealed that many do not have specific protocols for TBI in pregnant patients and highlighted a preference for using MRI and varying practices regarding transfusions and treatment methods.
  • The findings indicate substantial inconsistency in how severe TBI is managed in pregnant individuals, suggesting a need for more research and education to standardize care.
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Myocardial injury and cardiac dysfunction after traumatic brain injury (TBI) have been reported in observational studies, but there is no robust estimate of their incidences. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the pooled incidence of myocardial injury and cardiac dysfunction among adult patients with TBI. A literature search was conducted using MEDLINE and EMBASE databases from inception to November 2022.

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Background: Incorporating post-discharge data into trauma registries would allow for better research on patient outcomes, including disparities in outcomes. This pilot study tested a follow-up data collection process to be incorporated into existing trauma care systems, prioritizing low-cost automated response modalities.

Methods: This investigation was part of a larger study that consisted of two protocols with two distinct cohorts of participants who experienced traumatic injury.

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Introduction: Culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) patients should but do not routinely receive professional interpretation. The authors examined provider perceptions of barriers and solutions to interpreter services (IS) in a safety-net hospital to inform quality improvement (QI).

Methods: A 13-item survey was distributed to 750 clinicians representing 10 services across professional roles, including social workers.

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Background: Firearm injuries cause significant morbidity and mortality. Patients with firearm injuries require urgent/emergency operative procedures but the literature incompletely describes how anesthesia care and outcomes differ between high acuity trauma patients with and without firearm injuries. Our objective was to examine anesthesia care, resource utilization, and outcomes of patients with acute firearm injuries compared to nonfirearm injuries.

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Article Synopsis
  • Injuries are a major cause of death in the U.S., and trauma systems ensure that injured patients receive proper care through trauma centers (TCs) with varying designations for resources but not specific surgical care.
  • A study analyzed Washington state's hospital data in 2016 to find patterns in surgical care differences between TCs and non-trauma centers (non-TCs) using unsupervised clustering methods.
  • Results showed that while surgical care features partially aligned with TC designations, factors like orthopedic procedures and patient demographics were significant in distinguishing hospitals, highlighting the need for optimized resource allocation in trauma systems.
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Article Synopsis
  • The study examines the effects of early dexmedetomidine, a sedative, on blood biomarkers in adults with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) after being admitted to the ICU.
  • Researchers analyzed data from the TRACK-TBI study, focusing on adults with specific Glasgow Coma Scale scores who required mechanical ventilation and sedation within the first 48 hours post-injury.
  • Findings showed that, out of 352 TBI patients, only 14.2% received early dexmedetomidine, but there were no significant associations found between dexmedetomidine use and the levels of brain injury biomarkers measured on days 3, 5, and 14.
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Purpose: Transcranial doppler based diagnostic criteria for cerebral vasospasm are not well established in the pediatric population because there is no published normative data to support the diagnosis. Studies have relied on expert consensus, but the definitions have not been validated in children diagnosed with angiographic evidence of vasospasm. Obtaining normative data is a prerequisite to defining pediatric cerebral vasospasm and the Lindegaard Ratio (LR).

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Objectives: Demand for rapid coagulation testing for massive transfusion events led to development of an emergency hemorrhage panel (EHP; hemoglobin, platelet count, prothrombin time/international normalized ratio, and fibrinogen), with laboratory turnaround time (TAT) of less than 20 minutes. Ten years on, we asked if current laboratory practices were meeting that TAT goal and differences were evident in TAT between the 2 major institutions in our system.

Methods: We identified EHPs ordered at our 2 largest hospitals, February 2, 2021, to July 17, 2022, comparing order to specimen draw time, specimen draw to specimen received time, laboratory analytic time, and total TAT results from emergency department and operating room.

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Introduction: Diversity in healthcare and research is integral to serving our increasingly diverse population. Access to academic enrichment programs, an important pathway to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers promotes educational attainment through academic preparation and increased interest, useful strategies for improving diverse representation in higher learning. Given this important pathway to STEM fields, attention to equity in enrichment programs admissions is as important as the increasing focus on mitigating racial/ethnic disparities in undergraduate and graduate admissions.

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Background: Incorporating post-discharge data into trauma registries would allow for better research on patient outcomes, including disparities in outcomes. This pilot study tested a follow-up data collection process to be incorporated into existing trauma care systems, prioritizing low-cost automated response modalities.

Methods: This investigation was part of a larger study that consisted of two protocols with two distinct cohorts of participants who experienced traumatic injury.

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to examine factors associated with cardiac evaluation and associations between cardiac test abnormalities and clinical outcomes in patients with acute brain injury (ABI) due to acute ischemic stroke (AIS), spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH), and traumatic brain injury (TBI) requiring neurocritical care. : In a cohort of patients ≥18 years, we examined the utilization of electrocardiography (ECG), beta-natriuretic peptide (BNP), cardiac troponin (cTnI), and transthoracic echocardiography (TTE). We investigated the association between cTnI, BNP, sex-adjusted prolonged QTc interval, low ejection fraction (EF < 40%), all-cause mortality, death by neurologic criteria (DNC), transition to comfort measures only (CMO), and hospital discharge to home using univariable and multivariable analysis (adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, insurance carrier, pre-admission cardiac disorder, ABI type, admission Glasgow Coma Scale Score, mechanical ventilation, and intracranial pressure [ICP] monitoring).

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Background: Acupuncture is a promising treatment for common symptoms after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Our objectives were to explore knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about acupuncture, identify health service needs and assess the perceived feasibility of weekly acupuncture visits among individuals with TBI.

Methods: We surveyed adults 18 years of age and older with TBI who received care at the University of Washington.

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