Hypertonic fluids may be no use for traumatic brain injury victims

If you or someone you love has suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI), you may be overwhelmed with treatment options and prognoses.  You may be wondering if there was more that could have been done to prevent the TBI, or more that could have been done to keep the damage from being so bad.

 

One promising treatment for TBIs can be crossed off your list, as it was recently found to be ineffective at improving patient outcomes.  This was found in a new study examining the effectiveness of administering hypertonic fluids after a serious traumatic brain injury.

 

What are hypertonic fluids?  They are solutions that contain a high concentration of electrolytes.  The theory was that administering them to a patient right after a TBI would help reduce intracranial pressure, potentially reducing the damage.

 

The study followed 1,087 patients suffering from a severe TBI but no shock or blood loss.  Some of the patients were given the hypertonic fluids before getting to the hospital, while other patients were given a regular saline solution.

 

Unfortunately researchers did not find any difference between the two groups.  The patients who received the hypertonic fluids had similar disability and survival rates to the patients who received saline.  Researchers noted that a different approach with the hypertonic fluids may help, but at this time there was no reason to use them on TBI victims before arriving at the hospital.

 

Would you like help from an attorney after an accident that led to a traumatic brain injury?  Our Houston based injury attorneys have the experience and determination you want on your side.