scholarly journals High extracellular potassium and its correlates after severe head injury: relationship to high intracranial pressure

2000 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Reinert ◽  
Ahmad Khaldi ◽  
Alois Zauner ◽  
Egon Doppenberg ◽  
Sung Choi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Flow ◽  
Cerebral Blood Flow ◽  
Intracranial Pressure ◽  
Fatal Outcome ◽  
Cell Swelling ◽  
Simultaneous Increase ◽  
Extracellular Potassium ◽  
Ionic Flux ◽  
Amperometric Method ◽  
Lactate Levels

Disturbed ionic and neurotransmitter homeostasis are now recognized to be probably the most important mechanisms contributing to the development of secondary brain swelling after traumatic brian injury (TBI). Evidence obtained from animal models indicates that posttraumatic neuronal excitation via excitatory amino acids leads to an increase in extracellular potassium, probably due to ion channel activation. The purpose of this study was therefore to measure dialysate potassium in severely head injured patients and to correlate these results with intracranial pressure (ICP), outcome, and also with the levels of dialysate glutamate, lactate, and cerebral blood flow (CBF) so as to determine the role of ischemia in this posttraumatic ionic dysfunction. Eighty-five patients with severe TBI (Glasgow Coma Scale score < 8) were treated according to an intensive ICP management-focused protocol. All patients underwent intracerebral microdialyis. Dialysate potassium levels were analyzed by flame photometry, as were dialysate glutamate and dialysate lactate levels, which were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography and an enzyme-linked amperometric method in 72 and 84 patients respectively. Cerebral blood flow studies (stable Xenon–computerized tomography scanning) were performed in 59 patients. In approximately 20% of the patients, potassium values were increased (dialysate potassium > 1.8 mmol). Mean dialysate potassium (> 2 mmol) was associated with ICP above 30 mm Hg and fatal outcome. Dialysate potassium correlated positively with dialysate glutamate (p < 0.0001) and lactate levels (p < 0.0001). Dialysate potassium was significantly inversely correlated with reduced CBF (p = 0.019). Dialysate potassium was increased after TBI in 20% of measurements. High levels of dialysate potassium were associated with increased ICP and poor outcome. The simultaneous increase of potassium, together with dialysate glutamate and lactate, supports the hypothesis that glutamate induces ionic flux and consequently increases ICP due to astrocytic swelling. Reduced CBF was also significantly correlated with increased levels of dialysate potassium. This may be due to either cell swelling or altered potassium reactivity in cerebral blood vessels after trauma.

High level of extracellular potassium and its correlates after severe human head injury: relationship to high intracranial pressure

2000 ◽  
Vol 93 (5) ◽  
pp. 800-807 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Reinert ◽  
Ahmad Khaldi ◽  
Alois Zauner ◽  
Egon Doppenberg ◽  
Sung Choi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Flow ◽  
Cerebral Blood Flow ◽  
Intracranial Pressure ◽  
Fatal Outcome ◽  
Cell Swelling ◽  
Simultaneous Increase ◽  
Extracellular Potassium ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Amperometric Method ◽  
Fine Print

Object. Disturbed ionic and neurotransmitter homeostasis are now recognized as probably the most important mechanisms contributing to the development of secondary brain swelling after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Evidence obtained in animal models indicates that posttraumatic neuronal excitation by excitatory amino acids leads to an increase in extracellular potassium, probably due to ion channel activation. The purpose of this study was therefore to measure dialysate potassium in severely head injured patients and to correlate these results with measurements of intracranial pressure (ICP), patient outcome, and levels of dialysate glutamate and lactate, and cerebral blood flow (CBF) to determine the role of ischemia in this posttraumatic ion dysfunction.Methods. Eighty-five patients with severe TBI (Glasgow Coma Scale Score < 8) were treated according to an intensive ICP management-focused protocol. All patients underwent intracerebral microdialyis. Dialysate potassium levels were analyzed using flame photometry, and dialysate glutamate and dialysate lactate levels were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography and an enzyme-linked amperometric method in 72 and 84 patients, respectively. Cerebral blood flow studies (stable xenon computerized tomography scanning) were performed in 59 patients.In approximately 20% of the patients, dialysate potassium values were increased (dialysate potassium > 1.8 mM) for 3 hours or more. A mean amount of dialysate potassium greater than 2 mM throughout the entire monitoring period was associated with ICP above 30 mm Hg and fatal outcome, as were progressively rising levels of dialysate potassium. The presence of dialysate potassium correlated positively with dialysate glutamate (p < 0.0001) and lactate (p < 0.0001) levels. Dialysate potassium was significantly inversely correlated with reduced CBF (p = 0.019).Conclusions. Dialysate potassium was increased after TBI in 20% of measurements. High levels of dialysate potassium were associated with increased ICP and poor outcome. The simultaneous increase in dialysate potassium, together with dialysate glutamate and lactate, supports the concept that glutamate induces ionic flux and consequently increases ICP, which the authors speculate may be due to astrocytic swelling. Reduced CBF was also significantly correlated with increased levels of dialysate potassium. This may be due to either cell swelling or altered vasoreactivity in cerebral blood vessels caused by higher levels of potassium after trauma. Additional studies in which potassium-sensitive microelectrodes are used are needed to validate these ionic events more clearly.

Cerebral blood flow and evoked potentials during Cushing response in sheep

1989 ◽  
Vol 256 (3) ◽  
pp. H779-H788
Author(s):  
R. C. Koehler ◽  
J. E. Backofen ◽  
R. W. McPherson ◽  
M. D. Jones ◽  
M. C. Rogers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Flow ◽  
Cardiac Output ◽  
Cerebral Blood Flow ◽  
Intracranial Pressure ◽  
Arterial Pressure ◽  
Evoked Potentials ◽  
Aortic Pressure ◽  
Base Line ◽  
Auditory Evoked Responses ◽  
Cushing Response

We determined how alterations in systemic hemodynamics, characteristic of the Cushing response, are related to changes in cerebral blood flow (CBF), cerebral metabolic rate of O2 (CMRO2), and brain electrical conductive function, as assessed by somatosensory-evoked potentials (SEP) and brain stem auditory-evoked responses (BAER). In three groups of eight pentobarbital-anesthetized sheep, intracranial pressure was gradually elevated to within 50, 25, or 0 mmHg of base-line mean arterial pressure and then held constant for 40 min by intraventricular infusion of mock cerebrospinal fluid. Microsphere-determined CBF fell when cerebral perfusion pressure was less than 50 mmHg. CMRO2 fell when CBF fell greater than 30-40%. Mean aortic pressure and cardiac output increased when CBF fell greater than 40%, i.e., at approximately the level at which CMRO2 fell. Furthermore, the magnitude of the increase in arterial pressure and cardiac output correlated with the reduction of CMRO2. SEP latency did not increase unless CBF fell greater than 55-65%, corresponding to a 20-30% reduction of CMRO2. Increased latency of BAER wave V was associated with a fall in midbrain blood flow of greater than 65-70%. Thus increase in SEP and BAER latencies required reductions of flow greater than those required to elicit a systemic response. This demonstrates that there is a range of intracranial pressure over which the increase in arterial pressure preserves sufficient CBF to sustain minimal electrical conductive function. The best predictor of the onset and magnitude of the Cushing response in adult sheep is the decrease in CMRO2.

Interaction among autoregulation, CO2 reactivity, and intracranial pressure: a mathematical model

1998 ◽  
Vol 274 (5) ◽  
pp. H1715-H1728 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauro Ursino ◽  
Carlo Alberto Lodi
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Model ◽  
Blood Flow ◽  
Cerebral Blood Flow ◽  
Intracranial Pressure ◽  
Nonlinear Interaction ◽  
Cerebral Blood Volume ◽  
Cerebral Hemodynamics ◽  
Pial Arteries ◽  
Arterial Circulation ◽  
Neurosurgical Patients

The relationships among cerebral blood flow, cerebral blood volume, intracranial pressure (ICP), and the action of cerebrovascular regulatory mechanisms (autoregulation and CO2 reactivity) were investigated by means of a mathematical model. The model incorporates the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) circulation, the intracranial pressure-volume relationship, and cerebral hemodynamics. The latter is based on the following main assumptions: the middle cerebral arteries behave passively following transmural pressure changes; the pial arterial circulation includes two segments (large and small pial arteries) subject to different autoregulation mechanisms; and the venous cerebrovascular bed behaves as a Starling resistor. A new aspect of the model exists in the description of CO2 reactivity in the pial arterial circulation and in the analysis of its nonlinear interaction with autoregulation. Simulation results, obtained at constant ICP using various combinations of mean arterial pressure and CO2 pressure, substantially support data on cerebral blood flow and velocity reported in the physiological literature concerning both the separate effects of CO2 and autoregulation and their nonlinear interaction. Simulations performed in dynamic conditions with varying ICP underline the existence of a significant correlation between ICP dynamics and cerebral hemodynamics in response to CO2 changes. This correlation may significantly increase in pathological subjects with poor intracranial compliance and reduced CSF outflow. In perspective, the model can be used to study ICP and blood velocity time patterns in neurosurgical patients in order to gain a deeper insight into the pathophysiological mechanisms leading to intracranial hypertension and secondary brain damage.

Suctioning and Cerebral Blood Flow

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 73 (5) ◽  
pp. 737-737
Author(s):  
JEFFREY M. PERLMAN ◽  
JOSEPH J. VOLPE
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Blood Flow ◽  
Cerebral Blood Flow ◽  
Intracranial Pressure ◽  
Flow Velocity ◽  
Arterial Blood Pressure ◽  
Blood Flow Velocity ◽  
Cerebral Blood Flow Velocity ◽  
Base Line ◽  
Arterial Blood

In Reply.— Marshall misread a critical piece of information in the text. His interpretation of the data would be correct, if the intracranial pressure, arterial blood pressure, and cerebral blood flow velocity changes occurred simultaneously. However, as we stated in the text (see section on "Temporal Features of Changes with Suctioning"), the intracranial pressure fell to base-line values immediately following suctioning, whereas the changes in arterial blood pressure and cerebral blood flow velocity occurred more slowly over an approximately two-minute period.

Cerebral Metabolism and Blood Flow Following Traumatic Brain Injury

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Martin ◽  
Lara Zimmermann ◽  
Marike Zwienenberg ◽  
Kee D Kim ◽  
Kiarash Shahlaie
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Blood Flow ◽  
Cerebral Blood Flow ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Intracranial Pressure ◽  
Cerebral Autoregulation ◽  
Cerebral Metabolism ◽  
Elevated Intracranial Pressure ◽  
Metabolic Demand ◽  
Cerebral Metabolic Rate

The management of traumatic brain injury focuses on the prevention of second insults, which most often occur because of a supply/demand mismatch of the cerebral metabolism. The healthy brain has mechanisms of autoregulation to match the cerebral blood flow to the cerebral metabolic demand. After trauma, these mechanisms are disrupted, leaving the patient susceptible to episodes of hypotension, hypoxemia, and elevated intracranial pressure. Understanding the normal and pathologic states of the cerebral blood flow is critical for understanding the treatment choices for a patient with traumatic brain injury. In this chapter, we discuss the underlying physiologic principles that govern our approach to the treatment of traumatic brain injury. This review contains 3 figures, 1 table and 12 references Key Words: cerebral autoregulation, cerebral blood flow, cerebral metabolic rate, intracranial pressure, ischemia, reactivity, vasoconstriction, vasodilation, viscosity

The Effect of Mannitol on Intracranial Pressure and Cerebral Blood Flow

1972 ◽  
pp. 176-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. H. Johnston ◽  
A. Paterson ◽  
A. M. Harper ◽  
W. B. Jennett
Keyword(s):  
Blood Flow ◽  
Cerebral Blood Flow ◽  
Intracranial Pressure
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