Outcome prediction after penetrating craniocerebral injury in a civilian population: aggressive surgical management in patients with admission Glasgow Coma Scale scores of 3, 4, or 5

In an attempt to evaluate the response of patients who have low admission Glasgow Coma Scale scores (GCS) after a penetrating craniocerebral injury to aggressive management, we evaluated a series of 190 patients with penetrating injuries who presented with a GCS score of 3, 4, or 5 during a 6-year period. Entrance criteria required replicable neurological examinations that were not altered by the presence of hypotension, drugs/toxins, or systemic injury. The surgical patients included 21 patients with an admission GCS score of 3, 24 with an admission GCS score of 4, and 15 with an admission GCS score of 5. All patients underwent surgical intervention and aggressive perioperative management in the neurosurgical intensive care, including resuscitative protocols. Five of the patients with a GCS score of 3 survived, all with poor outcomes. Seven of the patients with a GCS score of 4 survived, although only one had a good outcome. Eleven of the patients with a GCS score of 5 survived. Five had a Glasgow Outcome Score of 2, five had a Glasgow Outcome Score of 3, and one had a Glasgow Outcome Score of 4. We have devised a prospective model of outcome based on our series in an attempt to predict nonsurvivors at admission (while overpredicting for survivors). The variables most predictive of mortality include admission GCS score and subarachnoid hemorrhage in one model and admission GCS score and pupillary changes in a second, when pupillary response was definitive at admission (P < or = 0.00005).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Skeletal muscle ventricles with efferent valved homograft

Skeletal muscle ventricles (SMVs) were constructed from the latissimus dorsi muscle in seven beagles. Following 3 weeks of vascular delay and 6 weeks of electrical conditioning, the SMVs were connected in series with the thoracic aorta using a valved aortic homograft for the efferent limb. The SMVs were stimulated to contract synchronously during diastole. Effective aortic diastolic counterpulsation was achieved in all dogs, with an average 24.2% +/- 15.3% improvement in diastolic pressure. In two animals surviving beyond 3 months, increase in SMV function was noted over time. Appropriate aortic homograft valve function was documented by echocardiogram. Acute reversible heart failure was induced with propranolol in one dog alive after 126 days. A 61.3% reduction in cardiac output and a 37.6% reduction in mean arterial blood pressure were achieved. During profound low cardiac output, SMV stimulation with 33 Hz and 50 Hz improved cardiac output by 16.9% and 17.8%, improved the tension time index by 14.9% and 16.1%, and improved the endocardial viability ratio by 34.1% and 34.1%, respectively. These results again demonstrate the long-term effectiveness of SMVs as aortic counterpulsators. A valve in the efferent limb of the SMV system functions appropriately over time and may improve the efficiency of the system.

Reversible cardiomyopathy after high-dose interleukin-2 therapy

We observed two patients who developed moderate global myocardial dysfunction during therapy with high-dose interleukin-2 (IL-2). Although cardiac enzymes became markedly elevated at the completion of a full course of IL-2, patients exhibited no ischemic symptoms. Serial echocardiography documented global myocardial dysfunction, which resolved in 5 days in one patient but persisted beyond 4 weeks in another. Asymptomatic reversible myocardial injury can occur with high-dose IL-2 and can persist beyond 4 weeks after stopping therapy. Review of the literature suggests an IL-2-associated myocarditis as an etiology.

Autogenously lined skeletal muscle ventricles in circulation. Up to nine months' experience

Skeletal muscle ventricles were constructed in fifteen dogs. After a delay period of 4 weeks the skeletal muscle ventricles were connected to the descending thoracic aorta with a polytetrafluoroethylene bifurcation graft (Gore-Tex bifurcation graft, W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc., Elkton, Md.). The aorta was ligated between the two limbs of the graft so that there was obligatory blood flow through the skeletal muscle ventricle. Nine skeletal muscle ventricles were lined with autogenously derived tissue, either pleura or pericardium, whereas six had no specific lining other than an induced fibrous reaction. The skeletal muscle ventricles were activated to contract during cardiac diastole. Aortic diastolic counterpulsation was achieved in all dogs, with ten surviving from 1 week to beyond 9 months. Thrombus eventually developed in all but three of the skeletal muscle ventricles, but no dog had clinical evidence of thromboemboli. The three thrombus-free skeletal muscle ventricles were lined with pleura, including the animal surviving beyond 9 months. These results indicate that canine skeletal muscle can provide aortic diastolic counterpulsation for 9 months without clinically apparent thromboembolic complications.

Treatment of spinal cord compression by epidural malignancy in childhood

Epidural spinal cord compression by a malignant tumor is a rare occurrence in children. Both the tumors involved and the extent of involvement of the vertebral column are different in children and adults. Often, the epidural tumor in a child is identified before significant spinal canal compromise has occurred, and these children frequently can be managed by radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy. There is a group of children, however, who have severe spinal canal encroachment by a tumor, as evidenced by a near complete or complete block on myelography. In this study, we report a group of patients with severe spinal cord compression, as documented by imaging studies. We compared the results of a decompressive laminectomy and subtotal tumor resection followed by adjuvant therapy with the results obtained with radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy alone. Thirty-three patients met the criteria for inclusion in the study. Twenty-six were treated with a laminectomy and adjuvant therapy, and 7 were treated without surgical intervention. With surgical therapy, 25 of 26 epidurals were either improved or stable, whereas 4 of 7 nonsurgical patients deteriorated. Especially notable was a decrease in pain in the operative patients immediately after their procedure. There was no surgical mortality or morbidity. The results of this study indicate that children with severe spinal cord compression as evidenced by a near complete or complete block on myelography or filling of 50% or more of the spinal canal on magnetic resonance imaging are best treated by a combination of surgical decompression and tumor removal followed by adjuvant therapy.

Left ventricular diastolic function in sepsis

Although systolic dysfunction of the left ventricle has been characterized in septic shock (SS) and sepsis without shock (SWS), diastolic abnormalities are less well characterized. Diastolic filling was determined using pulsed Doppler transmitral spectral tracings in 13 patients with SS, ten patients with SWS, and 33 normal controls. Diastolic filling variables and heart rate were similar in patients with SS and SWS. The SS and SWS patients had an abnormal pattern of diastolic filling compared with controls and were characterized by an increase in peak atrial velocity (70 +/- 20 cm/sec SS, 84 +/- 18 cm/sec SWS vs. 56 +/- 11 cm/sec controls, p less than .05), decreased peak rapid filling velocity/peak atrial filling velocity (1.1 +/- 0.3, SS, 1.1 +/- 0.2 SWS vs. 1.5 +/- 0.4 controls, p less than .05), increased atrial filling fraction (39 +/- 11 SS, 42 +/- 6 SWS vs. 30 +/- 10 controls, p less than .05) and prolongation of atrial filling period as a function of the diastolic filling period (0.48 +/- 0.10 SS, 0.43 +/- 0.10 SWS vs. 0.30 +/- 0.07 controls, p less than .05). Heart rate was higher in SS and SWS compared with controls (116 +/- 15 beat/min SS, 110 +/- 26 beat/min SWS vs. 73 +/- 12 beat/min controls, p less than .05). In patients with SS and SWS, there is increased reliance on atrial systolic contribution to diastolic filling. We conclude that diastolic dysfunction occurs with systemic infections.

Sinus arrest in epilepsy

In contrast to the usual occurrence of tachycardia during epileptic seizures, a 23-year-old man had episodic prolonged sinus arrest that lasted up to 9 seconds at the time of clinically observed seizures. There was no demonstrable cardiac disease.