Hypertonic Resuscitation Following Severe Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

To determine if prehospital administration of 7.5% Hypertonic Saline in 6% Dextran-70 (HSD) OR 7.5% Hypertonic Saline (HS) compared to current standard therapy with NS as an initial resuscitation fluid affects neurological outcome following severe traumatic brain injury. Trauma is the leading cause of death among North Americans between the ages of 1 and 44 years. The majority of these deaths result from hypovolemic shock or severe brain injury. Patients in hypovolemic shock develop a state of systemic tissue ischemia then a subsequent reperfusion injury at the time of fluid resuscitation. Conventional resuscitation involves the IV administration of a large volume of isotonic or slightly hypotonic (lactated ringers, LR) solutions beginning in the pre-hospital setting. Although not conclusive, prior studies have suggested that alternative resuscitation with hypertonic saline (7.5%) solutions may reduce morbidity or mortality in these patients. Furthermore, hypertonic fluids may have specific advantages in the brain-injured patient, as they may aid in the rapid restoration of cerebral perfusion and prevent extravascular fluid sequestration, thereby limiting secondary brain injury. In addition, recent studies have demonstrated that hypertonicity significantly alters the activation of inflammatory cells, an effect that may reduce subsequent organ injury from ischemia-reperfusion and decrease nosocomial infection. This study is a randomized, double-blind, three-arm placebo controlled trial designed to evaluate the clinical outcome of trauma patients with severe TBI as manifested by a pre-hospital GCS of 8 or less. Patients will be randomized to a single 250cc IV dose of 7.5% saline in 6% Dextran-70 (HSD), 7.5% saline (HS) or normal saline as the initial fluid for pre-hospital resuscitation. No additional interventions will occur once the patient is admitted to the hospital. In hospital data collection will last up to 28 days. Patients will have neurologic outcome measurements at discharge, 1 month post discharge, and 6 months post injury. Enrollment will be restricted to age ≥ 15 years or ≥ 50 kg if age is unknown.