Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

Revisiting Grade 3 Diffuse Axonal Injury: Not All Brainstem Microbleeds are Prognostically Equal.

Neurocritical Care 2017 October
BACKGROUND: Recovery of functional independence is possible in patients with brainstem traumatic axonal injury (TAI), also referred to as "grade 3 diffuse axonal injury," but acute prognostic biomarkers are lacking. We hypothesized that the extent of dorsal brainstem TAI measured by burden of traumatic microbleeds (TMBs) correlates with 1-year functional outcome more strongly than does ventral brainstem, corpus callosal, or global brain TMB burden. Further, we hypothesized that TMBs within brainstem nuclei of the ascending arousal network (AAN) correlate with 1-year outcome.

METHODS: Using a prospective outcome database of patients treated for moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury at an inpatient rehabilitation hospital, we retrospectively identified 39 patients who underwent acute gradient-recalled echo (GRE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). TMBs were counted on the acute GRE scans globally and in the dorsal brainstem, ventral brainstem, and corpus callosum. TMBs were also mapped onto an atlas of AAN nuclei. The primary outcome was the disability rating scale (DRS) score at 1 year post-injury. Associations between regional TMBs, AAN TMB volume, and 1-year DRS score were assessed by calculating Spearman rank correlation coefficients.

RESULTS: Mean ± SD number of TMBs was: dorsal brainstem = 0.7 ± 1.4, ventral brainstem = 0.2 ± 0.6, corpus callosum = 1.8 ± 2.8, and global = 14.4 ± 12.5. The mean ± SD TMB volume within AAN nuclei was 6.1 ± 18.7 mm3 . Increased dorsal brainstem TMBs and larger AAN TMB volume correlated with worse 1-year outcomes (R = 0.37, p = 0.02, and R = 0.36, p = 0.02, respectively). Global, callosal, and ventral brainstem TMBs did not correlate with outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that dorsal brainstem TAI, especially involving AAN nuclei, may have greater prognostic utility than the total number of lesions in the brain or brainstem.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app