Monitorización de presión tisular de oxígeno cerebral en pacientes pediátricos con traumatismo encéfalo craneal grave. Reporte de dos casos

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the most frequent causes of mortality in childhood. The treatment of patients with severe TBI is directed to prevention, early detection and treatment of secondary injuries due to extra and/or intracranial etiologies. Brain ischemia is a central cause of brain damage and its prevention has become a primary goal for intensivists. New techniques have developed to detect brain ischemia directly bedside the patient, through the monitoring of oxygen tissue pressure (P _tiO ₂). Our objective is to report 2 pediatric patients with severe TBI and P _tiO ₂ monitoring, in order to ilustrate the possibility that offers this technique in early detection of brain ischemia and review the current literature. We analyzed the clinical records of the patients with coma Glasgow score below 8. The intracranial pressure and P _tiO ₂ monitoring was made through a catheter implanted in the encephalic matter. The device allowed early detection of secondary injuries and an optimal therapeutic approach in the patients, both with good outcome at discharge. The P _tiO ₂ monitoring showed high safety and reliability.