Abstract
The general objective: To evaluate decompressive craniectomy (DC) as a treatment in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) at the Central Hospital of Maracay. January-July 2024. Materials and Methods: The study is descriptive, prospective and cross-sectional. Glasgow and Marshall coma scale, clinical characteristics and imaging findings were applied. Results: 15 patients aged 49±23.5 years, 93% male, were studied. The main cause of TBI was a motorcycle accident and another (53.3%). Before CD, 80% had moderate TBI, 66.66% had normal pupils, 46.67% entered II and 33,33% were placed in IV on the Marshall scale. Subdural hematoma and epidural hematoma predominated with 26.67% in each case. The midline deviation was 8.5±2.4 mm. The CD application time was 11±9.6 hours. After CD, 46.66% and 26.67% were classified as having moderate and mild TBI respectively. 40% had normal pupils, 20% died and 66.67% were not admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. Although the results were favorable after CD, the differences did not show statistical significance (p≥0.05) so it is recommended to expand the sampling. Conclusion: The results suggest that decompressive craniectomy is recommended as a treatment in patients with traumatic brain injury, with satisfactory results in ages 20-40 years and moderate and mild TBI on the Glasgow scale. However, in patients over 60 years of age and a Glasgow scale score of less than 9 points, the results may be unfavorable.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Daniel Aguiar , Miguel Flores , Claudia León , German Pinto, Mildred Lupi (Author)