Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38680074›Full record

Observational studyPrehospital and disaster medicine2024

Brain Injury Associated Shock: An Under-Recognized and Challenging Prehospital Phenomenon.

Christopher Partyka, Alexander Alexiou, John Williams, Jimmy Bliss, Matthew Miller, Ian Ferguson

Abstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Prehospital and disaster medicine, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Prehospital transfusion strategies in haemorrhagic shock.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2026
    Review
  3. Observational
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Christopher PartykaStaff Specialist in Prehospital & Retrieval Medicine, NSW Ambulance, Aeromedical Operations, Bankstown Aerodrome, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-7142-4386
Alexander AlexiouConsultant in Emergency Medicine, Royal London Hospital, London, England.
John WilliamsCritical Care Paramedic, NSW Ambulance, Aeromedical Operations, Bankstown Aerodrome, NSW, Australia.
Jimmy BlissStaff Specialist in Prehospital & Retrieval Medicine, NSW Ambulance, Aeromedical Operations, Bankstown Aerodrome, NSW, Australia.
Matthew MillerStaff Specialist in Prehospital & Retrieval Medicine, NSW Ambulance, Aeromedical Operations, Bankstown Aerodrome, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-5251-7939
Ian FergusonStaff Specialist in Prehospital & Retrieval Medicine, NSW Ambulance, Aeromedical Operations, Bankstown Aerodrome, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-5915-6315

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveHemodynamic collapse in multi-trauma patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) poses both a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge for prehospital clinicians. Brain injury associated shock (BIAS), likely resulting from catecholamine storm, can cause both ventricular dysfunction and vasoplegia but may present clinically in a manner similar to hemorrhagic shock. Despite different treatment strategies, few studies exist describing this phenomenon in the early post-injury phase. This retrospective observational study aimed to describe the frequency of shock in isolated TBI in prehospital trauma patients and to compare their clinical characteristics to those patients with hemorrhagic shock and TBI without shock.

methodsAll prehospital trauma patients intubated by prehospital medical teams from New South Wales Ambulance Aeromedical Operations (NSWA-AO) with an initial Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) of 12 or less were investigated. Shock was defined as a pre-intubation systolic blood pressure under 90mmHg and the administration of blood products or vasopressors. Injuries were classified from in-hospital computed tomography (CT) reports. From this, three study groups were derived: BIAS, hemorrhagic shock, and isolated TBI without shock. Descriptive statistics were then produced for clinical and treatment variables.

resultsOf 1,292 intubated patients, 423 had an initial GCS of 12 or less, 24 patients (5.7% of the original cohort) had shock with an isolated TBI, and 39 patients had hemorrhagic shock. The hemodynamic parameters were similar amongst these groups, including values of tachycardia, hypotension, and elevated shock index. Prehospital clinical interventions including blood transfusion and total fluids administered were also similar, suggesting they were indistinguishable to prehospital clinicians.

conclusionsHemodynamic compromise in the setting of isolated severe TBI is a rare clinical entity. Current prehospital physiological data available to clinicians do not allow for easy delineation between these patients from those with hemorrhagic shock.

Indexed as

Brain Injuries, TraumaticEmergency Medical ServicesAdultAgedFemaleGlasgow Coma ScaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNew South WalesRetrospective StudiesShockShock, Hemorrhagicbrain injury associated shockEmergency Medical Servicesshocktraumatraumatic brain injury

Identifiers

PMID38680074
PMCPMC11496208

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.