Patients who sustained TBI as a result of motorcycle accidents and those exhibiting a lower GCS score are at the highest risk for concomitant cervical spine injury.
INTRODUCTION
Post-traumatic cerebral infarction (PTCI) is a severe secondary insult of head injury and often leads to a poor prognosis. Hemocoagulation disorder is recognized to have important effects on hemorrhagic or ischemic damages. We sought to assess if post-traumatic coagulopathy determined using thrombelastography was associated with cerebral infarction after head trauma.
METHODS
We prospectively reviewed 316 patients with head trauma to evaluate the effects of demographics, admission Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score, and TEG data on the development of PTCI. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent risk factors.
RESULTS
Patients with PTCI had a shorter R, greater a-Angle, and shorter K, indicating faster clotting. Additionally, TEG results were independently associated with an increased risk of PTCI.
CONCLUSION
TEG demonstrates that many PTCI patients are hypercoaguable and the risk of developing PTCI may be higher in patients with a shorter R, greater a-Angle, and shorter K.
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