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Part IV
Neurocritical Care
Chapter 16
Traumatic Brain Injury
LeslyV.JuradoHernández andTeresaA.Allison

16.1 Introduction

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) causes substantial challenges for public health systems, leading to long-term economic burdens to patients and health systems [1]. Globally, in 2019, there were 27.16million new TBI cases [2]. These num­bers are signicantly underestimated, as they do not take into account TBIs treated in emergency departments and primary care or those that go untreated.
In addition to the acute care requirements, these patients often need long­term care and extensive rehabilitation. Many patients are young when injured and otherwise in good health; they can live for decades even if severely injured. It is thought that up to 15% of patients with even a “mild TBI” will experience a post-concussion syndrome (PCS), which consists of physical (fatigue, head­aches), cognitive (difculties with concentration and memory), and emotional (irritability, anxiety, depression) symptoms [3]. It can lead to disturbances in personal relationships as well as the ability to return to school or work weeks to months after injury [4]. The literature on PCS is limited due to difculty study­ing this population. Symptoms are not specic to PCS and may overlap with other conditions. Additionally, it is questioned whether persistent symptoms are driven by neurological and/or other psychological factors and how premorbid conditions may inuence these symptoms. The severity of PCS depends on many factors including the severity of TBI, multiple TBIs (as in contact sports),
L. V. JuradoHernández Department of Pharmacy, Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center Wilmington, NC, USA
T. A. Allison ( Department of Pharmacy, Memorial Hermann—Texas Medical Center, Houston, TX, USA e-mail: Teresa.Allison@memorialhermann.org
Switzerland AG 2025 Y. Alzaidi, M. A. Gebily (eds.), The Pharmacist’s Expanded Role in Critical Care Medicine, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-77335-8_16
*)
397© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature
398
L. V. JuradoHernández and T. A. Allison
as well as neurological and psychological factors. Patients with moderate-to­severe TBI have been shown to be twice as likely to die as similar non- brain­injured people; their life expectancy is reduced by 7years [5].
16.2 Classication ofTBI
Traumatic brain injury can be described based on several different criteria. Injuries are classied as primary or secondary. The primary injury is the event causing the damage. It is immediate and not modiable by treatment. Secondary injuries begin quickly after the primary injury and are thought to cause the majority of complications following a TBI.There are many causes of secondary injuries, with hypoxia (PaO2<60mmHg) and hypotension (SBP<95mmHg) considered to be the leading contributing factors. One incident of either hypoxia or hypotension has been shown to nearly double the mortality in severe TBI [6, 7].
There are two classical types of head injury: closed head injury (CHI) or pene­trating TBI. CHI (also known as non-penetrating injury or blunt TBI) is caused by an external force strong enough to move the brain in the skull. This can be caused by falls, motor vehicle accidents, sports injuries, being struck with an object, or a blast injury. Penetrating TBI is caused when an object pierces the skull and enters the brain.
Traumatic brain injury can be classied based on the effects on the brain. Focal injuries occur at the site of the impact. The neurological decits are predominantly conned to this area. Diffuse axonal injury is the shearing of axons in cerebral white matter, which leads to widespread damage. Hematomas are bleeds caused by a rup­tured blood vessel and are further described based on the location of the hemor­rhage. Intracerebral hemorrhage is when bleeding occurs into the brain tissue. Epidural hematomas occur in the area between the skull and the dura mater, the top layer of the meninges. Subdural hematomas occur in the area between the dura mater and arachnoid mater. Subarachnoid hemorrhages (SAHs) occur in the area between the arachnoid mater and pia mater. Traumatic SAHs are treated as a TBI per TBI guidelines, while aneurysmal SAH is considered a subset of stroke and is treated according to aneurysmal SAH guidelines [8]. Further discussion of aneurys­mal SAH is outside the scope of this chapter. Contusions are a bruising or swelling when very small blood vessels bleed into the brain. Contusions are further classied as coup and contrecoup injuries. A coup injury occurs directly under the impact site, while the contrecoup injury occurs on the opposite side of the impact. Coup and contrecoup injuries often happen when the brain is bounced back and forth within the skull, such as in high-speed motor vehicle collisions or in shaken baby syn­drome. Concussions are considered a mild TBI and a temporary injury. However, it can take the brain months to heal.
Traumatic brain injury is classied based on the severity of injury as mild, mod­erate, or severe. Table16.1 describes the severity of injury.
raumatic Brain Injury
16
T
Table 16.1 Classication of severity of traumatic brain injury [9, 10]
Mild Moderate Severe
GCS 13–15 9–12 3–8 Loss of
consciousness Post-traumatic
amnesia Structural imaging Normal Normal or abnormal Normal or abnormal Interventions No Imaging and monitoring, possible
GCS Glasgow Coma Scale
<30min 30min–24h >24h
0–1days >1–7days >7days
treatment
Imaging, monitoring, and treatment
399

16.3 Hemodynamics

The skull is a rigid compartment comprised of brain matter, blood, and cerebro­spinal uid (CSF). The Monro-Kellie hypothesis states that the sum of the vol­umes of brain tissue, intracranial blood, and CSF is constant. An increase in the volume of one component should cause a proportional decrease in one or both remaining components, or it will result in an increase in intracranial pressure (ICP) [11]. Intracranial blood (primarily venous) and CSF are the two compo­nents where the volume can adapt most easily to accommodate an increase in volume of intracranial contents. Once these compensatory mechanisms are exhausted, volume increases in any of the three components (e.g., hematoma, cerebral edema, space-occupying lesions, hemorrhage) will lead to increases in pressure, resulting in elevated ICP [11].
Intracranial pressure is the pressure within the cranial vault; the relationship between volume and pressure within the cranium is nonlinear. Cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) is the mean arterial pressure (MAP) minus ICP and is used as a sur­rogate for cerebral blood ow (CBF). Mathematically, this is shown as CPP = MAP—ICP. Normally, CBF is maintained constant over a CPP range by cerebral autoregulation. Once autoregulation is impaired, changes in MAP or ICP can have direct effects on CBF [11].
The Brain Trauma Foundation Guidelines for the Management of Severe Traumatic Brain Injury fourth Edition (BTF Guidelines) recommend a CPP target between 60 and 70mm Hg and ICP below 22mm Hg, which has demonstrated to reduce 2-week mortality in traumatic brain injury [12, 13]. The goals of ICP man­agement are to preserve adequate brain oxygen delivery, avoid secondary injury, and prevent herniation. Brain herniation syndrome results in an extreme elevation of ICP accompanied by Cushing’s triad consisting of irregular respirations, bradycar­dia, and hypertension, followed by normalization of ICP [11]. Elevated ICP and cerebral herniation are life-threatening neurologic emergencies. Intracranial hyper­tension is dened as a sustained (>5min) elevation of ICP to >22mm Hg [13]. Additionally, the systolic blood pressure goal is >100mm Hg for patients aged 50–69years and >110mm Hg for patients aged 15–49 and >70years [13].
400
L. V. JuradoHernández and T. A. Allison
16.4 Neurological Evaluation andImaging
Admission to a neurologic intensive care unit is associated with reduced morbidity and mortality in patients with TBI [14, 15]. After initial assessment in the emer­gency room, patients with severe TBI should be admitted to the ICU, a specialized neuro ICU if one is present. However, utilization of other services may be required depending on the extent of injuries.
In the acute phase of ICU management, hemodynamic and neurological assess­ments are performed on TBI patients every hour. As the patient’s condition stabi­lizes, neurological assessment periods may be extended. Neurological evaluations are most commonly performed with a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), which objec­tively describes the extent of impaired consciousness [16]. The scale assesses three components of responsiveness, including eye-opening, verbal, and motor responses. The total score is a sum of each of these three components; see Table16.2. A patient who is completely awake and intact will receive a score of 15, while patients in a coma will have a score of 8 or less. A completely unresponsive patient will receive a score of 3, which is the lowest possible score.
Neuroimaging with a non-contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) scan should be performed immediately in the emergency department in order to deter­mine if neurosurgical interventions are possible [9]. If the injury is amenable to surgery, the patient should be taken to the operating room (OR) immediately. If the injury is not amenable to surgery, the patient should be taken immediately to the ICU.
The BTF Guidelines recommend monitoring ICP in all salvageable patients with a severe TBI and an abnormal CT scan with either hematomas, contusions, swell­ing, herniation, or compressed basal cisterns [13]. ICP monitoring is indicated in patients with severe TBI with a normal CT scan if two or more of the following features are noted at admission: age >40 years, unilateral or bilateral motor
Table 16.2 Glasgow Coma Scale [16]
Response Score
Eye opening Spontaneous
To speech To pain No response
Best verbal response Oriented to person, place, and time
Confused Inappropriate words Incomprehensible sounds No response
Best motor response Obeys commands
Moves to localized pain Flexion withdrawal from pain Abnormal exion (decorticate) Abnormal extension (decerebrate) No response
4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1
6 5 4 3 2 1
16 Traumatic Brain Injury
posturing, or an SBP <90mmHg. Typically, ICP and MAP are monitored, and CPP is calculated hourly in patients with an ICP monitor. There are two basic types of ICP monitors. The external ventricular drainage catheter is placed inside a ventricle; it can measure ICP and drain CSF.The ICP monitor known as a “bolt” is placed in the subarachnoid space, epidural space, or parenchyma. The bolt is only able to monitor the ICP.
Advanced cerebral monitoring techniques for blood ow and oxygen include transcranial Doppler (TCD)/duplex sonography, differences between arterial and arterio-jugular venous oxygen (AVDO2), and measurements of local tissue oxygen. Arterio-jugular AVDO2 globally measures cerebral oxygen extraction. Microdialysis measures brain metabolism, and electrocorticography determines cortical spreading depression. Currently, use of these monitoring techniques in clinical practice is lim­ited due to insufcient evidence demonstrating a benet as well as questions regard­ing how to use the data provided by these advanced cerebral monitors.
401

16.5 Pharmacological Management

Pharmacological management can be divided into management of CPP, manage­ment of ICP, and adjunct therapies. Management of CPP entails maintaining a MAP to balance the ICP. MAP is increased with uids, blood products, and vasopressors. ICP is managed with pharmacological agents including hyperosmolar therapy, sedation and analgesia, and anesthetics. Nonpharmacological methods include decompressive craniectomy, prophylactic hypothermia, cerebrospinal uid drain­age, and ventilation strategies. Because uids and vasopressors are covered else­where, the focus of this chapter will be the management of ICP.

16.5.1 Hyperosmolar Therapy

The administration of hyperosmolar agents is one of the principal strategies in treat­ing cerebral edema and lowering elevated ICP. Hyperosmolar therapy primarily consists of mannitol and hypertonic saline (HTS). Current literature suggests that both agents are effective for managing acute intracranial hypertension in the setting of TBI; however, Class I evidence for this therapy is meager, and most evidence is derived from retrospective analyses or case series [13]. See Table16.3 for compari­sons of the two agents. The optimal agent, method of administration, and precise mechanism of action for this class continue to be examined.
Hyperosmolar agents have two main mechanisms of action. An immediate ICP reduction is observed through changes in blood uid dynamics or rheology. The mechanisms underlying these rheological modications include lowering of blood viscosity and increasing MAP, which lead to reduced cerebral blood volume and a compensatory cerebral vasoconstriction [17, 18]. Additionally,
402
Table 16.3 Comparison of mannitol and hypertonic saline [18, 20, 22, 23, 26, 27, 33, 37, 43, 46,
4851, 55, 56]
Mannitol Hypertonic saline
Mechanism of action
Additional proposed benets
Onset of action 20min 20min Duration of
effect Administration
access
Infusion Infused via boluses Infused via boluses or continuous
Dose Typically 20% solution at 0.5–1g/kgDependent on sodium level, goal sodium
Intravascular volume effects
Electrolyte disturbances
Acute kidney injury
Neurological complications
ICP intracranial pressure
Decreases blood viscosity and improves microcirculatory blood ow
Free radical scavenger and inhibits programed cell death
90min to 6h 90min to 4h
May be administered via peripheral line
Produces diuresis; benecial in hypervolemic patients
Risk of sodium and potassium abnormalities; hyper- or hypo­depending on the time of lab draw in relation to administration of mannitol
Risk of acute kidney injury (theoretically when osmolar gap >20mOsm/kg)
Administration of continuous infusions can lead to accumulation, worsening cerebral edema, and rebound ICP elevation
L. V. JuradoHernández and T. A. Allison
Decreases blood viscosity and improves microcirculatory blood ow
Anti-inammatory processes
Traditionally administered via central line; newer literature suggests that it is safe to administer via peripheral line. Institutional polices will dictate peripheral or central administration
infusion
level, and uid status Increases intravascular volume;
benecial in hypovolemic patients. However, can lead to hypervolemia and complications
Risk of electrolyte abnormalities: Hypernatremia and hyperchloremia. Risk of metabolic acidosis due to hyperchloremia
Risk of acute kidney injury due to hypernatremia and hyperchloremia
Risk of osmotic demyelination, especially in hyponatremic patients
these agents have osmotic properties, which take effect in approximately 20min after dosing. These osmotic properties produce a reduction in brain water con­tent and a reduction in cerebrospinal uid pressure. When administered in clini­cal doses, mannitol reduces brain water by approximately 2% [18]. Other features of mannitol that have been proposed to contribute to its therapeutic effects include that it is a free radical scavenger and it inhibits programmed cell death [1921]. It has been proposed that hypertonic saline has additional vaso­regulatory, immunomodulatory, and neurochemical effects that provide benet in this patient population [22].
16 Traumatic Brain Injury
403
Both agents do appear to be effective at lowering ICP, but the literature has not demonstrated a superior agent. Additionally, neither agent has shown to improve neurological outcomes [23]. As such, guidelines have differing recommendations. The BTF Guidelines recommend mannitol at 0.25–1 g/kg, in one-time or as­needed doses.
Currently, there is insufcient evidence from comparative studies to support a formal recommendation regarding hypertonic saline [13]. However, the 2019 Seattle International Severe Traumatic Brain Injury Consensus Conference (SIBICC) rec­ommends either hypertonic saline or mannitol boluses as initial (Tier 1) treatment for an elevated ICP and considers treatments within a tier to be equivalent [24]. The 2020 Neurocritical Care Society (NCS) Guidelines for the Acute Treatment of Cerebral Edema in Neurocritical Care Patients recommend hypertonic saline over mannitol for initial management of elevated ICP and cerebral edema in patients with TBI.The panel acknowledged that the quality of evidence was low; however, hypertonic saline was at least as safe and effective as mannitol. Additionally, the panel agreed that the purposed advantages of hypertonic saline over mannitol for uid resuscitation and cerebral perfusion supported this recommendation [23]. The Western Trauma Association (WTA) management recommendations state that it is generally accepted that both agents are effective in reducing elevated ICP, though they suggest HTS in the polytrauma patient who requires vascular volume expan­sion in addition to lowering of the ICP [25].
Currently, the choice of agent is based on perceived advantages and disadvan­tages as well as pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties. Mannitol is a sugar alcohol that is excreted unchanged in the urine. The half-life is affected by glomerular ltration rate and averages 39–103min [18, 26]. Mannitol is removed via hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis [27]. The peak ICP-lowering effect occurs within 30–45 min and lasts around 6 h. Mannitol becomes less effective with repeated doses. Mannitol is most frequently administered as a 20% (1098mOsm/L) or 25% (1375mOsm/L) solution when given for ICP control. The dose can range from 0.25 to 2g/kg, while most clinicians will use doses of 0.5–1g/kg. Doses may be repeated every 4–6h based on clinical need. Mannitol should be infused through an in-line 5micron lter due to the risk of precipitation. The infusion length is typically 10–30min, with the faster infusion rate of 10min reserved for impending cerebral herniation.
The acute effect of mannitol on systemic arterial pressure is variable. A slight increase in pulse pressure and MAP is commonly observed. However, transient decreases in blood pressure secondary to decreases in systemic vascular resistance have been reported in the literature [28]. Hypotension is most likely to occur in patients who are relatively volume depleted. Acute mannitol-induced hypotension is rarely a serious problem. However, it can present a challenge when attempting to maintain CPP.
The potential complication of mannitol accumulating in damaged brain tissue and worsening uid shifts appears to be more of an issue when the drug is not cleared from the blood between doses. A theoretical risk of mannitol is “rebound” intracranial pressure, which is most often attributed to continuous infusions or
404
L. V. JuradoHernández and T. A. Allison
repeated high doses. In either case, it is proposed that prolonged therapy leads to penetration of osmotically active particles into brain tissue, especially in areas of a disrupted blood-brain barrier (BBB). Accumulation of mannitol leads to the cre­ation of an osmotic gradient favoring water movement into the tissue, leading to edema [29]. Whether this actually occurs is unclear; several studies in animals and humans have reported no clinical evidence of rebound intracranial pressure [3034]. Alternate proposed mechanisms include rapid volume depletion from administra­tion of mannitol without adequate uid administration as well as the administration of uids that are hypotonic relative to the osmolarity of the patient combined with a rise in the number of intracellular osmotic particles induces movement of water back into regions with disrupted BBB and increased water permeability [20, 35]. Until the actual mechanism of rebound intracranial pressure can be determined, it is recommended not to administer mannitol as continuous infusions or more often than every 4–6h.
Mannitol-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) has been extensively discussed in the literature; however, the mechanism remains unclear. Suggested mechanisms include renal vasoconstriction produced by a high dose/concentration of mannitol; profound diuresis and natriuresis, and osmotic nephropathy, which is isomeric tubu­lar vacuolization or tubular cell swelling [3638]. Furthermore, patients with preex­isting risk factors including advanced age, underlying kidney disease, and concomitant use of nephrotoxic agents have been shown to be susceptible to the development of mannitol-induced AKI [36, 39, 40].
The risk of AKI is suggested to increase with a serum osmolality greater than 320mOsm/kg [18]. Hence, many institutions continue to monitor serum osmolality when administering mannitol therapy with an upper allowable limit of 320mOsm/ kg [24]. While monitoring serum osmolality in patients who have received multiple doses of mannitol may be useful for associated toxicities, it does not predict man­nitol concentrations [41]. The 2020 NCS Guidelines for the Acute Treatment of Cerebral Edema in Neurocritical Care Patients recommend using serum osmolar gap (measured serum osmolality—calculated osmolality) over serum osmolality to monitor for increased risk of AKI [23]. The osmolar gap has been shown to corre­late better with mannitol serum concentrations than serum osmolality. Additionally, a normal osmolar gap concentration indicates that sufcient clearance of mannitol has occurred for additional dosing [42]. Retrospective analyses suggest that AKI with an osmolar gap <55mOsm/kg is extremely rare and is more likely to occur once it exceeds 60–75mOsm/kg [26, 43, 44]. The guidelines acknowledge that an upper limit of 20mOsm/kg is often used as the threshold for AKI risk, although this number is not clearly supported by literature [23]. Mannitol-induced AKI is often reversible with cessation of the drug and will respond to hemodialysis, if required [44, 45].
It is important to closely monitor electrolytes while patients are receiving hyper­osmolar therapy [23]. With mannitol, it is important to note the subacute phase in which electrolytes and the uid status are being monitored. For example, hypona­tremia may be observed immediately after the dose of mannitol secondary to dilu­tion. However, hypernatremia may be observed in the diuresis period as it causes a
16 Traumatic Brain Injury
405
net clearance of “free water.” In addition to water and sodium chloride, abundant urine loss of potassium, phosphate, and magnesium can occur in patients receiving mannitol. Though exceedingly rare, mannitol can lead to volume overload with sub­sequent pulmonary edema or heart failure immediately following administra­tion [26].
The ratio of urine diuresed to the volume of mannitol 25% solution administered can be as high as 5:1 [20]. For example, if 125mL of mannitol is administered, the patient may diurese 625mL. As such, patients can become severely dehydrated. Often, uids and sodium will need to be replaced after a mannitol infusion using normal saline (0.9%), one-half normal saline (0.45%), or one-quarter normal saline (0.22%) depending on the sodium concentration. The volume replaced is dependent on the perceived volume status of the patient and may require ½ to 1mL per mL diuresed.
A theoretical advantage of HTS to mannitol is that an intact BBB is less perme­able to saline than to mannitol. The reection coefcient, which is a measure of the ability of a membrane to prevent the passage of solutes, is 1 for sodium chloride vs.
0.9 for mannitol. Animal studies show that with an intact BBB, sodium administra­tion increases CSF sodium concentrations but lags behind plasma levels by 1–4h, creating an effective osmotic gradient.
Therapeutic HTS dosing regimens are more varied compared to mannitol. Regimens include concentrations ranging from 2% to 23.4%, which are adminis­tered as bolus doses or continuous infusions. There is no evidence to suggest that one regimen is superior to another. Currently, clear guidelines and specic sodium targets are lacking. Because of this, a 2011 survey of Neurocritical Care Society members showed that administration patterns varied considerably [46]. One-third of respondents used prophylactic continuous infusions, one-fourth reported using symptom-based bolus dosing, and one-fth reported using a combination of the two strategies. Additionally, a small number reported using scheduled bolus dosing.
Traditionally, it has been recommended that concentrations of hypertonic saline solutions of 3% or greater be infused through a central catheter to avoid extravasa­tion, thrombophlebitis, and tissue necrosis. It is thought that this recommendation was extrapolated from studies on peripheral administration of osmolar loads of total parenteral nutrition, which determined maximum osmolarity of peripherally infused solutions be limited to 900 mOsml/L.Currently, there is still concern for thrombo­phlebitis and extravasation; however, there is growing support in the literature for the peripheral administration of HTS [4752]. Additionally, there are practical rea­sons for peripheral line administration. First, central venous access is not immedi­ately available in the acute setting in all patients. This recommendation can lead to a delay in therapy and potentially worsen outcomes. Second, central catheters are associated with complications including infection, symptomatic thrombosis, and pneumothorax. Catheter-related complications are estimated to occur with up to 15–20% of catheters, depending on the site of placement [53]. Prior to a facility or ICU adopting peripheral administration of HTS, a protocol for administration and monitoring should be implemented. It should include the following: (a) infusing HTS only through large veins (18–20 gauge) in an upper extremity that are not in an