Study of the Risk Factors and Outcomes After Gastrointestinal Bleeding
Gastrointestinal HemorrhageCardiovascular DiseasesThe purpose of this multicenter, two component observational and standardized case-control study is to evaluate risk factors of gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding with a prospective 3-month and 12-month follow-up to examine outcomes and their possible causes.
Use of TXA to Prevent Postpartum Hemorrhage
Post Partum HemorrhagePostpartum hemorrhage (PPH) occurs in up to one in ten deliveries worldwide and is the leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality. In developing countries 30% of women develop PPH because access to a number of treatments is not readily available. Interestingly, the rate of PPH and consequently of maternal morbidity has increased significantly even in developed nations, such as Canada, over the past decades. This rate is also increasing amongst parturients in Ontario. Unfortunately, few effective preventative treatments exist. Antifibrinolytic drugs are routinely used to reduce bleeding and the requirement for blood transfusions in a wide range of hemorrhagic conditions. The most commonly used antifibrinolytic drug is tranexamic acid (TXA). TXA is safe, affordable, with very few side effects. The World Health Organization recommended that TXA be used to reduce blood loss in several conditions, including in patients with established PPH refractory to conventional therapy.However, little is known about the prophylactic use of TXA to prevent PPH.
Observational Study in Preterm Infants With Intracranial Hemorrhage
Intracranial HemorrhageIntraventricular Hemorrhage1 moreIntracranial Hemorrhage (ICH) is an important morbidity affecting premature infants and can have considerable effects on neurodevelopmental outcome. The investigators showed that preterm infants with severe ICH have decreased cerebral oxygenation several weeks after the hemorrhage. The mechanisms involved in this state of decreased cerebral oxygenation in preterm infants and the effects on cerebral function are unknown. This longitudinal observation study will evaluate physiologic parameters to determine trends in cerebral oxygenation and function in preterm infants with ICH in comparison to infants without ICH.
Cone Beam Computed Tomography Following Thrombectomy
StrokeHemorrhageCerebral haemorrhages following reperfusion treatments involve not only rupture of the blood-brain barrier, but also direct damage to vessels related to the equipment used and secondary toxicity to thrombolytics. The rupture of the blood-brain barrier which results from ischemia / reperfusion is responsible for stagnation of the contrast product on the exams performed after thrombectomy. It is difficult to distinguish hyperdensities related to the stagnation of contrast product and Hemorrhage on a conventional scanner. The reference imaging is the double energy scanner performed at the thrombectomy outlet. But no study directly compared the results of the flat panel with the cone beam CT performed in immediate post-thrombectomy. The investigators propose a direct comparison of the cone beam CT with the dual energy CT performed at the exit of thrombectomy.
Defining the Operating Characteristics of NIRS in the Diagnosis of Pediatric Traumatic Intracranial...
Craniocerebral InjuriesHead Injuries7 moreIn this study, investigators look at a different type of technology that might help to avoid having to perform CT scans in certain patients suspected of having a head injury. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) uses a specific light wavelength to determine if there is bleeding into the head as a result of trauma. Investigators will study NIRS, using a device called the Infrascanner model 2000, to determine if it is as good at detecting bleeding in the head as CT scan, which is the current gold standard. Investigators will try to determine if NIRS can rule in or rule out bleeding into the head, and perhaps this can help to avoid subjecting these youth to the potentially harmful effects of radiation. Investigators will also study how easy it is to use NIRS so that it might become a standard part of the workup for children with suspected head injury.
Predicting the Development of Myocardial Depression in Acute Neurological Patients
Myocardial DepressionTakotsubo Syndrome2 moreThe purpose of this study is to assess the levels of serum catecholamines associated with myocardial depression (MD) in patients with acute neurological injury.
Recovery After Cerebral Hemorrhage
Intra Cerebral HemorrhageSubarachnoid Hemorrhage2 moreBackground: While the intensive care of patients with life-threatening brain illnesses has advanced tremendously, a large number of therapies are still without proper scientific support. This can be partly explained by the fact that mechanisms of initial brain injury are still not well understood. Why additional neurological injury occurs during a patient's stay in the NeuroCritical Care Unit (NCCU) despite current best, evidence-based clinical practices, is also not well understood. However, over the past decade, better tools have become available to measure and monitor the impact of our clinical care on the rapidly changing physiology and chemistry of the injured brain. Some of these tools are CT, MRI, ultrasound, and catheter-based technology measuring blood flow and metabolism. These tools have enabled earlier detection of injury and complications and newer therapeutic strategies. Purpose: Examine disease pathways common to all brain injuries seen in the University of Maryland's 22-bed NCCU. Life-threatening neurological illnesses cared for in the NCCU include massive stroke, bleeding in and around the brain (subarachnoid hemorrhage, intracerebral hemorrhage, subdural hemorrhage, intraventricular hemorrhage), brain tumors, difficult to control seizures, neurologic infections, nerve and muscle diseases (such as myasthenia gravis or Guillain-Barre Syndrome), and spinal cord disorders among others. Many NCCU patients are comatose or paralyzed and may suffer injuries in other parts of the body as well. This effort will require the creation of a robust clinical database for the capture of data including patient characteristics (age, sex), clinical characteristics, medical treatments, surgical interventions, physiological data (such as vital signs, cerebral blood flow, intracranial pressure, cerebral oximetry, etc), laboratory data, and standard-of-care diagnostic studies such as electroencephalography (EEG), ultrasound, CT, MRI, and angiograms. Similar databases exist at other major centers for neurocritical care and have been instrumental to the identification of characteristics both predictive of and associated with outcomes of patients long after their stay in the NCCU. In addition, the samples collected will be included in the University of Maryland Medicine (UMM) Biorepository which is a shared resource to enable biomedical research by University of Maryland faculty.
Prevention of Postpartum Hemorrhage With Tranexamic Acid
Postpartum HemorrhagePostpartum hemorrhage is a significant contributor to maternal morbidity and mortality and is worldwide. TXA has recently been proven to reduce mortality when given to women in setting of diagnosed PPH. US obstetricians and anesthesiologists are hesitant to use TXA in the peripartum period especially for prevention of PPH due to uncertainty of an optimal dose and safety profile. The purpose of this study is to characterize the pharmacokinetics of TXA when given prophylactically at time of delivery. In addition investigators will determine the pharmacodynamics of TXA in the peripartum period.
Effectiveness of the Pressure Recording Analytical Method in Predicting Fluid Responsiveness in...
HypovolemiaHemorrhage1 moreThe Pressure Recording Analytical Method, invasive hemodynamic monitoring, is an uncalibrated pulse contour analysis, installed in the Mostcare® system that allows a continuous estimation of the stroke volume and thus the cardiac output, by the relationship between the area under the curve of the systolic portion of the arterial blood pressure curve and the dynamic impedance of the cardiovascular system. The objectives of the study are to determine if the parameters measured by Mostcare® make it possible to predict the response to volume expansion in pediatric surgical critical care patients, sedated, intubated and ventilated, by comparing the changes in stroke volume, induced by a volume expansion, measured by trans-thoracic echocardiography.
Safety and Efficacy of Remote Ischemic Conditioning in Patients With Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage...
Intracranial HemorrhagesThe purpose of this study is to determine whether treatment with remote ischemic conditioning is of sufficient promise to improve outcome before conducting a larger clinical trial to examine its effectiveness as a treatment for intracerebral hemorrhage.