Principles of intensive care during the acute period of severe craniocerebral trauma in children

: Prospective analysis of the course of severe craniocerebral injury (CCI) in 37 children showed that the results of treatment depended on methods of intensive care. In children the outcome of CCI depends primarily on adequacy of maintaining effective cerebral bloodflow during the acute period of CCI irrespective of the terms and etiological factors of coma. Adequate cerebral perfusion pressure is attained with osmodiuretics, saluretics, and hemodynamic therapy. Hyperventilation is justified in cases with coma developing within 2 h after the injury; it should not lead to long (more than 1 h) decrease of PaCO2 below 28 mm Hg. The authors emphasize that every delayed decrease of consciousness after the injury should be thoroughly analyzed in order to rule out intracranial complications (epi/subdural and intracerebrai hematomas) in no more than 6 h, which is the maximal time allowed for decision making. Use of unapproved medical methods and drugs in children during acute period of severe CCI is ineffective and even hazardous, because it distracts the physician's attention to negligible details of treatment; in addition many of such drugs have side effects.