Neurosurgery Study Examines Link Between Oxygen Loss and TBI
A recent study in the journal Neurosurgery examined the relationship between low oxygen supply to brain tissue (hypoxia) and a patient's risk of death or long-term disability due to a serious TBI.

December 03, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Brain injuries can result from varied traumas ranging from vehicle (car, truck, motorcycle) accidents, premises mishaps and industrial accidents to violent attacks. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 1.7 million Americans suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year. TBIs can involve a mild or closed head injury or a more serious brain injury involving internal bleeding or hemorrhage.

A recent study in the journal Neurosurgery, the official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, took a closer look at the relationship between low oxygen supply to brain tissue (hypoxia) and a patient's risk of death or long-term disability due to a serious traumatic brain injury. The authors concluded that brain hypoxia led to poor medical outcomes, independent of other critical factors in the aftermath of a brain injury, such as intracranial pressure and brain blood flow (cerebral perfusion).

The study, authored by intensive care, neurology and neurosurgery experts at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center and the Lausanne University Medical Center in Switzerland, looked at 103 TBI patients, most of whom suffered brain hemorrhage after a severe blunt trauma to the head. The point of the study was to isolate the significance of low oxygen supply to vulnerable brain tissue from other factors.

The research determined that the risk of an adverse outcome increased by 11 percent for each additional hour that a patient's brain hypoxia endures. The authors noted that the findings support recent changes to medical observation of TBI victims, which added brain oxygen monitoring to standard procedures during treatment of a serious head injury.

Regardless of an accident victim's traumatic brain injury, the key to obtaining full justice and financial compensation is having a lawyer who: (1) has a solid understanding of brain injury medicine; (2) appreciates the horrendous impact a TBI has on a person's quality of life; and (3) has the experience and skill to communicate the full magnitude of the loss to an insurance company and jury.

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