J D Corrigan — Page 3 | Search PubMed

PubMedDate not supplied

Effect of blood alcohol level on recovery from severe closed head injury.

A retrospective archival study of 129 moderate to severe closed head-injury patients from a university-based rehabilitation hospital was conducted to investigate the effect of blood alcohol level (BAL) at time of trauma on the length of post-traumatic amnesia (PTA), length of hospitalization and cognitive status on clearing PTA. While no statistical significance was obtained for the effect of BAL on length of PTA, a mean difference of 15.4 days between 'no alcohol' and 'intoxicated' patient groups was observed. A low, but significant correlation, r = 0.249, p less than 0.05, indicated that as blood alcohol level increased, time to rehabilitation admission increased. The sex of the patient had a significant effect on length of PTA, BAL and time of recovery variable F (6,81) = 2.468, p less than 0.05. Females experienced longer length of PTA, but had lower BALs than males. Measures of cognitive status on clearing PTA did not show a statistically significant effect of BAL. Results are discussed in terms of mediating variables in the relationship between BAL and the length of acute hospitalization, prolonged PTA in patients with a positive BAL, and potential physiological bases for the interaction among sex, BAL and PTA duration.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Hyponatremia-associated cognitive impairment in traumatic brain injury.

The case of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) patient with dramatic cognitive deterioration in the absence of medical aetiology other than simultaneous decline in serum sodium led to an investigation of the association between declines in sodium levels and cognitive status. In a population of 50 persons undergoing TBI rehabilitation, 12 (24%) had relative (3 mEq/L) decreases in serum sodium while five (10%) experienced absolute hyponatremia (136 mEq/L). Correlation with cognitive status was significant when the absolute hyponatremia group was compared with those whose sodium levels remained above 136 mEq/L. A case-matched study of the relative hyponatremia group yielded no significant association between sodium-level decreases and cognitive status. These data support previous conclusions indicating wide variation in individual responses to changes in serum sodium. The threshold for significant effects of hyponatremia may be higher in patients with TBI than in populations studied previously.

Bicycling↗