Brain stem blood flow in patients with traumatic brain injury

Modern neuroimaging technologies provide complex data important for traumatic brain injury (TBI) treatment and prognosis [12,24]. This study was devoted to brain stem blood flow measurements in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) using perfusion CT. We examined 76 patients with TBI of various severity. Patients with TBI showed blood flow disturbances in a brain stem. The level of blood flow deterioration depended on the preservation of cerebral autoregulation (hyperemia up to 76,38 ml/100g/min) and the presence of brain stem lesions (blood flow reduction down to 4,03 ml/100g/min). Trauma mechanism influenced the level of blood flow in comatose patients. The largest variability of blood flow values was observed in patients with severe trauma and unfavorable outcome. Perfusion CT proved to be a convenient tool for obtaining brain stem CBF levels in patients with TBI. A further investigation is necessary to determine critical brain stem blood flow levels for clinical application.