Severe traumatic brain injury (STBI) is a leading cause of disability, mortality, and economic burden worldwide. The impact of severe traumatic brain injury (STBI) on the economy of developing countries like Pakistan is distressing. Pakistan has a large proportion of the young adult population in the World. Motorbike is the most common locomotive vehicle. These young ones are in the economically productive part of their lives. Their loss is an economical set back not only for their families but also for the Nation. Patients with STBI need standardized management in Neuro-critical care unit (NCCU). Although the setup and maintenance cost of an effective NCCU is one of the major burden on the budget of any public sector hospital, but the young survivor in turn can be productive for the Nation. During mechanical ventilation, severe traumatic brain injury patients frequently develop ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Ventilator-associated pneumonia can be evaluated using Clinical pulmonary infection score (CPIS). CPIS is considered as an important clinical indicator of pneumonia in NCCU. Bronchoalveolar Lavage (BAL) is a minimally invasive procedure done with instillation of normal saline into subsegments of the lung followed by suction and collection of the instilled fluid for analysis with flexible bronchoscope. Patients with moderate and severe traumatic brain injury usually present with altered conscious level, and most of them already have aspiration of vomitus, debris and secretions which increase the risk of VAP in them. Bronchoalveolar lavage can be helpful in preventing this dreadful VAP by clearing the airways. The aim of this study is to find out the effect of early Bronchoalveolar Lavage on severity of development of VAP assessed through clinical pulmonary infection score (CPIS) in TBI patients.
See this in plain English?
AI-rewrites the medical criteria so a patient or caregiver can understand them. Always confirm with the trial site.
VAP severity
Timeframe: 10 days
Ventilation Days
Timeframe: up to three weeks
ICU stay Total
Timeframe: up to four weeks