Use of Hypertonic Saline to Reduce the Intracranial Pressure

Scientific Essay from the year 2017 in the subject Medicine - Pharmacology, Pharmacy, grade: 1, Egerton University, language: English, abstract: In retrospect, the paradigm of evidence-based practice seems to underpin the quality of care as measured by improved patient outcomes. In neurotrauma care, evidence-based interventions have led to a significant decrease of morbidity and mortality resulting from traumatic brain injury (TBI). According to epidemiological data, TBI is reported to be the leading cause of mortality and morbidity, affecting over 10 million people in the global population, annually. This is attributable to complications associated with intracranial operations such as elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) and brain edema. Consequently, appropriate therapeutic interventions are required to reduce brain tissue damage and cerebral perfusion. In practice, hyperosmolar agents are used to ameliorate intracranial hypertension and brain edema. Of great interest in the treatment of intracranial hypertension is the increasing use of evidence-based guidelines that require the use of mannitol and hypertonic saline (HTS) as first-line treatment agents. However, recent meta-analyses suggest that HTS exhibit more efficacy in reducing ICP than the other hyperosmolar agents, despite the scarcity of evidence within the literature. Therefore, this paper comprises of a critical review of literature on the use of HTS to reduce intracranial pressure.