What Researchers Did
Researchers organized a multicenter, randomized, prospective trial to compare moderate systemic hypothermia and hyperbaric oxygen to standard management in 500 patients with severe brain injury.
What They Found
This abstract describes the design of an ongoing trial that began in October 1994, aiming to enroll 500 patients. The trial was designed to detect an absolute shift of 12% in satisfactory outcomes at 6 months post-injury.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
If successful, this research could potentially offer new treatment strategies for Canadian patients suffering from severe head injuries. However, as the trial results are not yet available, no immediate changes to clinical practice are indicated.
Canadian Relevance
This study has no direct Canadian connection as it is funded by the National Institutes of Health and involves nine centers, none of which are specified as Canadian.
Study Limitations
A primary limitation is that this abstract describes the design of an ongoing trial and does not present completed study results or conclusions.