Steroid 'reduces pneumonia traumatic brain injury'RSS Feed

A steroid could be used to combat the pneumonia seen in some brain injury patients, a study has shown.

According to the study authors, between 40 and 60 per cent of post-traumatic patients will develop pneumonia, with most of these incidences seen in traumatic brain injury cases.

The research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that pre-treating traumatic brain injury patients with the steroid hydrocortisone can significantly reduce this risk.

More than 51 per cent of the severe brain injury patients that were given a placebo developed pneumonia by their 28th day in the hospital, with this figure falling to 36 per cent among those who received the steroid.

Traumatic brain injury can also cause fits or seizures and problems with the sense, such as a loss of hearing or double vision as well as a loss of consciousness. In addition to the physical effects, people who have suffered a traumatic brain injury can experience both emotional and behavioural problems following the incident.

Serious Law, award winning brain injury law firm

Posted by Matthew Heap
 

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