One thing a Traumatic Brain Injury or TBI can cause in a person is bleeding in or near their brain. Such bleeding is called traumatic intracranial hemorrhage. This bleeding can be a significant threat to a person’s heath; it can even endanger their life.

Another challenge with TBIs is that there is still a lot that is unknown about these injuries, and thus the currently available treatments for the effects of these injuries are not always as effective as would be hoped.

This is underscored by a recent study which raises significant questions about the effectiveness of a treatment that is commonly used to try to prevent traumatic intracranial hemorrhage from progressing in TBI victims. The treatment in question is a platelet transfusion along with the administration of a hormone sometimes referred to as DDAVP.

The study looked at a little over 400 patients who received medical care in relation to a TBI. A little less than one-third of these patients received the above-mentioned treatment, while the rest did not.

The researchers compared the mortality rates and bleeding progression likelihood of the patients who received the treatment and those who didn’t. The results do not paint a very rosy picture of the treatment’s effectiveness. In fact, the findings indicated that receiving the treatment made no significant difference in mortality rate or bleeding progression likelihood over not receiving the treatment.

One wonders if future studies on this treatment will have similarly grim results regarding the treatment’s effectiveness.

As this effectiveness issue underscores, even when one receives medical treatment, TBIs can be very dangerous and have some very significant impacts on a person.

Thus, one would hope that individuals who engage in negligent behavior which causes others to suffer TBIs are held responsible for the health and financial impacts the injuries expose the victims to.

Source: Medical Xpress, “Study finds traumatic brain injury treatment is ineffective,” Jan. 27, 2015