SEDL / STP / STP1229-EB / STP12820S

Head Injured Patients Who Talk Before Deterioration or Death: The TADD Syndrome

Ommaya, AK
Professor of NeurosurgeryPresident, The George Washington University Medical CenterCenter for Interdisciplinary Brain Research (C.I.B.R.), Bethesda,MD

Thibault, LE
Professor of Bioengineering, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering, and Assistant Professor of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia,PA

Boock, RJ
Professor of Bioengineering, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering, and Assistant Professor of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia,PA

Meaney, DF
Professor of Bioengineering, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering, and Assistant Professor of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia,PA

Pages: 17    Published: Jan 1994

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Source: STP1229-EB

Abstract

A review of a class of head injured patients who display a lucid interval before onset of coma which defines an important category of brain trauma. A hypothesis explaining the mechanism of this syndrome (T.A.D.D.) is developed on the basis of in-vitro testing of venous and arterial responses to tensile strains and the relevant clinico-pathologic data are reviewed. Venospasm is proposed as the cause of secondary ischemic hypoxia associated with a high incidence of acute subdural hematomas and brain swelling. Suggestions for further testing of this hypothesis and implications for preventive management are discussed.

Keywords:
Venospasm, lucid interval, brain injury mechanisms, acute subdural hematoma, tensile strain, blood vessels, brain swelling

Paper ID: STP12820S
Committee/Subcommittee: F08.51
DOI: 10.1520/STP12820S
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