Chapter 5 cerebral perfusion pressure and intracranial pressure in traumatic brain injury

Mobilization phases in traumatic brain injury

Mobilization in traumatic brain injury (TBI) have shown the improvement of length of stay, infection, long term weakness, and disability. Primary damage as a result of trauma's direct effect (skull fracture, hematoma, contusion, laceration, and nerve damage) and secondary damage caused by trauma's indirect effect (microvasculature damage and pro-inflammatory cytokine) result in reduced tissue perfusion & edema. These can be facilitated through mobilization, but several precautions must be recognized as mobilization itself may further deteriorate patient's condition. Very few studies have discussed in detail regarding mobilizing patients in TBI cases. Therefore, the scope of this review covers the detail of physiological effects, guideline, precautions, and technique of mobilization in patients with TBI.

Nursing Interventions for Patients with Intracranial Hypertension: Integrative Literature Review

Objective: the study sought to identify, in national and international publications, the principal Nursing interventions aimed at patients with intracranial hypertension. Materials and Method: integrative literature review with search in LILACS, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cinahal, and Google Scholar databases, from 2013 to 2018. Results: the sample was comprised of seven articles fulfilling the inclusion criteria. Two thematic categories were established for the Nursing interventions aimed at patients with intracranial hypertension: cognitive skills and clinical reasoning, necessary to control neuro-physiological parameters and prevent intracranial hypertension, and evidence-based practices to improve care for neuro-critical patients. Conclusions: intracranial hypertension is an event of great clinical impact, whose complications can be minimized and control through specific Nursing interventions that encompass control of neuro-physiological and hemodynamic parameters and prevention of increased intracranial pressure related with the performance of procedures by the Nursing staff.

[Effects of body positioning in patients with non-traumatic intracranial hemorrhages]

The article presents an analysis of different methods of positioning patients with acute cerebral pathology. Changing of 'head-of-the bed' position is a routine and simple method of correction of intracranial hypertension. For the majority of patients with cerebral damage, regardless of the etiological factor, 15-30° 'head - of - the bed' position is preferable. However, in some cases head-of-bed manipulation can lead to the irreversible ischemic damage due to the reduction in systemic and perfusion pressure and cerebral blood flow. Thus, the selection of the optimal body position in different types of acute cerebral pathology remains a debated issue.