Decompressive craniectomy as a therapeutic alternative in uncontrollable intracranial hypertension in pediatric severe head injury

Abstract

Introduction: Severe head trauma has a high incidence in pediatric patients. It is a major cause of death and disability. Its most common causes in this age group are domestic and traffic accidents, falls, violence and sports activities. A bibliographic review was carried out in July and August 2023 with a total of 38 bibliographies in Spanish, English and Portuguese from the SciElo, Elsevier, Pubmed databases and the Google Scholar search engine. The most recent published literature in accordance with the novelty of this disease was considered as a selection criterion. Objective: To describe decompressive craniectomy as an alternative to pediatric intracranial hypertension caused by severe head trauma. Development: In the event of severe head trauma, intracranial pressure increases, causing intracranial hypertension. When this hypertension cannot be controlled, it becomes refractory, other more aggressive treatments such as decompressive craniectomy are required. This procedure is invasive, it consists of removing part of the skull to reduce the pressure inside the cranial cavity. Conclusions: It is necessary to continue studies of decompressive craniectomy in the management of pediatric cranial hypertension in the child and adolescent population, since studies focused on them are not abundant; these constitute a rescue intervention. Despite scientific advances, therapeutic achievements and knowledge of pediatric cranial hypertension, decompressive craniectomy is considered an optimal therapeutic choice, with fair prediction and not provided when the real options for success are insufficient.

Keywords

• craniectomía descompresiva
• hipertensión intracraneal
• presión intracraneal.