Rapid prediction of secondary neurologic decline after traumatic brain injury: a data analytic approach

Venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in patients with traumatic brain injuries and severe respiratory failure: A single-center retrospective analysis

BACKGROUND

Venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV ECMO) can support trauma patients with severe respiratory failure. Use in traumatic brain injury (TBI) may raise concerns of worsening complications from intracranial bleeding. However, VV ECMO can rapidly correct hypoxemia and hypercarbia, possibly preventing secondary brain injury. We hypothesize that adult trauma patients with TBI on VV ECMO have comparable survival with trauma patients without TBI.

METHODS

A single-center, retrospective cohort study involving review of electronic medical records of trauma admissions between July 1, 2014, and August 30, 2022, with discharge diagnosis of TBI who were placed on VV ECMO during their hospital course was performed.

RESULTS

Seventy-five trauma patients were treated with VV ECMO; 36 (48%) had TBI. Of those with TBI, 19 (53%) had a hemorrhagic component. Survival was similar between patients with and without a TBI (72% vs. 64%, p = 0.45). Traumatic brain injury survivors had a higher admission Glasgow Coma Scale (7 vs. 3, p < 0.001) than nonsurvivors. Evaluation of prognostic scoring systems on initial head computed tomography demonstrated that TBI VV ECMO survivors were more likely to have a Rotterdam score of 2 (62% vs. 20%, p = 0.03) and no survivors had a Marshall score of ≥4. Twenty-nine patients (81%) had a repeat head computed tomography on VV ECMO with one incidence of expanding hematoma and one new focus of bleeding. Neither patient with a new/worsening bleed received anticoagulation. Survivors demonstrated favorable neurologic outcomes at discharge and outpatient follow-up, based on their mean Rancho Los Amigos Scale (6.5; SD, 1.2), median Cerebral Performance Category (2; interquartile range, 1-2), and median Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended (7.5; interquartile range, 7-8).

CONCLUSION

In this series, the majority of TBI patients survived and had good neurologic outcomes despite a low admission Glasgow Coma Scale. Venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation may minimize secondary brain injury and may be considered in select patients with TBI.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Prognostic and Epidemiological; Level IV.

A Novel Continuous Real-Time Vital Signs Viewer for Intensive Care Units: Design and Evaluation Study

BACKGROUND

Clinicians working in intensive care units (ICUs) are immersed in a cacophony of alarms and a relentless onslaught of data. Within this frenetic environment, clinicians make high-stakes decisions using many data sources and are often oversaturated with information of varying quality. Traditional bedside monitors only depict static vital signs data, and these data are not easily viewable remotely. Clinicians must rely on separate nursing charts-handwritten or electric-to review physiological patterns, including signs of potential clinical deterioration. An automated physiological data viewer has been developed to provide at-a-glance summaries and to assist with prioritizing care for multiple patients who are critically ill.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to evaluate a novel vital signs viewer system in a level 1 trauma center by subjectively assessing the viewer's utility in a high-volume ICU setting.

METHODS

ICU attendings were surveyed during morning rounds. Physicians were asked to conduct rounds normally, using data reported from nurse charts and briefs from fellows to inform their clinical decisions. After the physician finished their assessment and plan for the patient, they were asked to complete a questionnaire. Following completion of the questionnaire, the viewer was presented to ICU physicians on a tablet personal computer that displayed the patient's physiologic data (ie, shock index, blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, respiratory rate, and pulse oximetry), summarized for up to 72 hours. After examining the viewer, ICU physicians completed a postview questionnaire. In both questionnaires, the physicians were asked questions regarding the patient's stability, status, and need for a higher or lower level of care. A hierarchical clustering analysis was used to group participating ICU physicians and assess their general reception of the viewer.

RESULTS

A total of 908 anonymous surveys were collected from 28 ICU physicians from February 2015 to June 2017. Regarding physicians' perception of whether the viewer enhanced the ability to assess multiple patients in the ICU, 5% (45/908) strongly agreed, 56.6% (514/908) agreed, 35.3% (321/908) were neutral, 2.9% (26/908) disagreed, and 0.2% (2/908) strongly disagreed.

CONCLUSIONS

Morning rounds in a trauma center ICU are conducted in a busy environment with many data sources. This study demonstrates that organized physiologic data and visual assessment can improve situation awareness, assist clinicians with recognizing changes in patient status, and prioritize care.

AI-Based Decision Support System for Traumatic Brain Injury: A Survey

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the major causes of disability and mortality worldwide. Rapid and precise clinical assessment and decision-making are essential to improve the outcome and the resulting complications. Due to the size and complexity of the data analyzed in TBI cases, computer-aided data processing, analysis, and decision support systems could play an important role. However, developing such systems is challenging due to the heterogeneity of symptoms, varying data quality caused by different spatio-temporal resolutions, and the inherent noise associated with image and signal acquisition. The purpose of this article is to review current advances in developing artificial intelligence-based decision support systems for the diagnosis, severity assessment, and long-term prognosis of TBI complications.