More thought needed in traumatic brain injury life support withdrawal, study showsRSS Feed

Withdrawing life support in cases of traumatic brain injury should be handled with caution, a new study has indicated.

Research published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that death following severe traumatic brain injury is associated with withdrawal of life support.

Decisions to take away life support from traumatic brain injury patients are usually made by the friends and family based on a poor prognosis, the patient's wishes and physician advice.

In a group of patients with severe traumatic brain injury, 32 per cent died in hospital. Some 70 per cent of these deaths were linked to withdrawing life-sustaining therapy.

Author Dr Alexis Turgeon said: "We saw that most deaths after severe traumatic brain injury occurred after withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy and that the rate of withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy varied significantly across level-one trauma centres."

In other news, a study published in journal Annals of Neurology has discovered that the effects of traumatic brain injury can last a long time after the original incident.

Microglial activation was observed up to 17 years following the traumatic brain injury.

News brought to you by Serious Law specialists in brain injury

Posted by Paul Breen
 

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