Opening the skull helps with severe cerebral hemorrhages
Published: Wednesday, May 15th 2024, 13:02
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A research team led by Bern University Hospital has for the first time found evidence of an effective therapy for severe bleeding in deep areas of the brain. In a study, they demonstrated the positive effects of temporarily removing part of the skull, as the Inselspital announced on Wednesday.
This opening of the skull lowers the pressure in the brain and can thus save lives and reduce consequential damage, according to the hospital. Once the swelling had subsided, usually after a few weeks, the skull bone was reimplanted in the patient concerned.
Nevertheless, six months after the treatment, 44% of the patients who had their skulls opened were bedridden or deceased, according to the study published in the journal "The Lancet". However, according to the Inselspital, the difference is considerable compared to the control group without so-called decompressive craniectomy: 58 percent were bedridden or deceased after six months.
Limited informative value
The study, which was led by researchers from Inselspital and the University of Bern, involved 201 adults with a severe deep brain hemorrhage from nine European countries. As the funding ran out after eight years, the target number of 300 study participants was not reached, as the Inselspital emphasized. According to the researchers, the statistical significance of the study is therefore limited.
Brain haemorrhages occur as a result of an injured blood vessel. The blood destroys brain cells, which causes the brain tissue to swell and, together with the bleeding, increases the pressure in the brain. This leads to extensive damage to the brain. If the hemorrhage occurs in the deep areas of the brain, treatment is particularly difficult, as the Inselspital emphasized. So far, no medical or surgical treatment has been able to reduce the risk of secondary damage or death in these patients.
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