34 Can I Say “No” If a Family Wants to Support a Vegetative Patient Indefinitely? John M. Luce BRIEF ANSWER Most American courts allow surrogate decision makers to withdraw or…
23 Why Have Therapeutic Trials in Head Injury Been Unable to Demonstrate Benefits? Azadeh Farin and Lawrence F. Marshall The topic of this chapter does not lend itself to the…
39 Do I Need to Decompress Patients with Spinal Cord Injury Right Away? Lali H.S. Sekhon and Michael G. Fehlings BRIEF ANSWER Despite strong experimental evidence that early decompression after…
32 When Should Head-Injured Patients with Long-Bon Fractures Undergo Surgical Treatment of Their Fractures Alex B. Valadka BRIEF ANSWER Surgical fixation of femur and other long bone fractures represents a…
29 Does Decompressive Craniectomy Really Improve Outcome After Head Injury? Brian T. Andrews BRIEF ANSWER The evidence supports classifying the performance of a decompressive craniectomy as a level II recommendation…
18 When Should Follow-Up Computed Tomography Scans Be Obtained? John A. Lopez, J. Paul Elliott BRIEF ANSWER The evidence supports a level III recommendation for use of serial computed tomography…
26 Should I Use Hypertonic Saline to Treat High Intracranial Pressure? Donald S. Prough BRIEF ANSWER The evidence supports a level III recommendation for the use of hypertonic saline to…
19 Do Patients with Intracranial Pressure Monitors Need Prophylactic Antibiotics? Daniel B. Michael BRIEF ANSWER The literature contains conflicting evidence about the benefits and risks of prophylactic antibiotics for preventing…
17 Are There Safe Upper and Lower Limits for Serum Sodium and Serum Osmolality in Head-Injured Patients? Should I Use Hypertonic Saline or Fluid Restriction to Treat Hyponatremia? Shon W….
11 Should I Monitor Brain Tissue PO2? Karl L. Kiening, Asita S. Sarrafzadeh, John F. Stover, and Andreas W. Unterberg BRIEF ANSWER Continuous monitoring of brain tissue oxygen tension (PbtO2)…
