ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the clinical efficacy of gradual decompression in the treatment of severe traumatic brain injury and its effects on the improvement of intracranial pressure.Methods:The clinical data of 120 patients with severe traumatic brain injury who received treatment in the General Hospital of Taiyuan Iron and Steel (Group) Co., Ltd. from January 2015 to January 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The included patients were divided into decompressive craniectomy group (control group, n = 64) and gradual decompression group ( n = 56). Intracranial pressure was compared between the two groups at different time points (before surgery, during the surgery, immediately after surgery, 3 and 6 months after surgery). The patient's self-care ability, coma degree, and neurological deficits pre-surgery and 6 months after surgery were evaluated in each group. The incidence of complications throughout the surgery and within 6 months after surgery was calculated to evaluate the quality of life. Results:There was no significant difference in intracranial pressure pre-surgery between the two groups ( P > 0.05). Intracranial pressure in the gradual decompression group was (30.74 ± 2.51) mmHg, (25.11 ± 2.06) mmHg, (21.34 ± 2.01) mmHg, and (16.74 ± 1.54) mmHg respectively during the surgery, immediately after surgery, and 3 and 6 months after surgery, which was significantly lower than that in the control group [(34.31 ± 3.06) mmHg, (30.64 ± 2.57) mmHg, (26.33 ± 2.35) mmHg, (22.64 ± 1.95) mmHg, t = 12.88, 19.03, 12.40, 18.20, all P < 0.001]. There were no significant differences in scores of the Modified Barthel Index (MBI), the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) pre-surgery between the two groups (all P > 0.05). At 6 months after surgery, the MBI and GCS scores increased and the NIHSS score decreased in each group. There were significant differences in the NIHSS, MBI, and GCS scores between the two groups ( t = 7.61, 6.26, 13.07, all P < 0.001). During the surgery and 6 months after surgery, the incidences of cerebral infarction, delayed cerebral hematoma, and acute encephalocele were significantly lower in the gradual decompression group than in the control group ( χ2 = 4.23, 4.35, 4.83, all P < 0.05). The Generic Quality of Life Inventory-74 Questionnaire scores in environment, psychological health, social relationship, and psychological health domains were significantly higher in the gradual decompression group than in the control group ( t = 8.16, 9.80, 8.68, 7.76, all P < 0.001) Conclusion:This study is the first to analyze the feasibility of gradual decompression for the treatment of severe traumatic brain injury in terms of intracranial pressure, quality of life, and short- and medium-term complications. Findings from this study confirm that gradual decompression can effectively lower intracranial pressure of patients with severe traumatic brain injury, improve neurological function, reduce complications, and improve patients' self-care ability and quality of life.