Clinical efficacy of combined use of Xuebijing and mild hypothermia therapy for the treatment of severe traumatic brain injury, and its effect on patient mortality and complications

Purpose: To investigate the clinical efficacy of combined use of Xuebijing and mild hypothermia therapy in severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), and its effect on mortality and incidence of complications. Methods: Eighty-six severe TBI patients admitted to The Fourth People's Hospital of Chongqing were selected. Patients were randomly and equally assigned to control group (COG) who received conventional treatment, and study group (EXG) given a combination of Xuebijing and mild hypothermia therapy. Relevant clinical indicators and therapeutic effects were compared. Results: Post-treatment levels of inflammatory indices, including procalcitonin (PCT), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were significantly reduced, with lower levels in EXG (p < 0.05). Between-group differences were seen in human leukocyte antigen-DR isotype (HLA-DR), CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, and C3 indicators (p < 0.05). EXG had significantly lower protein expression levels of neuron -specific enolase (NSE) and S100 beta than COG (p < 0.05). After treatment, plasma protein levels of coagulation indices, viz, prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) were lower than pre-treatment levels, with even much lower levels in EXG (p < 0.05). There were reduced incidence of lung infection, acute gastrointestinal injury, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and hypernatremia (p < 0.05). More patients had better recovery in EXG (p < 0.05) than in control group. Conclusion: The combined therapy improves the prognosis of severe TBI, lowers the levels of inflammatory factors, ameliorates plasma coagulation, and enhances immunity with a high degree of safety. However, further clinical trials should be undertaken prior to application in clinical practice.