Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Aug 23:15:296.
doi: 10.25259/SNI_559_2023. eCollection 2024.

Correlation of head injury with ECG and echo changes

Pavan Kumar Ediga  1 , Mudumba Vijaya Saradhi  1 , Rajesh Alugolu  2 , Jyotsna Maddury  2
Affiliations

Correlation of head injury with ECG and echo changes

Pavan Kumar Ediga et al. Surg Neurol Int. .

Abstract

Background: Abnormal electrocardiogram (ECG) findings can be seen in traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients. ECG may be an inexpensive tool to identify patients at high risk for developing cardiac dysfunction after TBI. This study aimed to examine abnormal ECG findings after isolated TBI and their association with true cardiac dysfunction based on echocardiogram.

Methods: This prospective observational study examined the data from adult patients with isolated and non-operated TBI between 2020 and 2021. Patients aged <18 years and >65 years with and presence of extracranial injuries including orthopedic, chest, cardiac, abdominal, and pelvis, pre-existing cardiac disease, patients who have undergone cardiothoracic surgery, with inotrope drugs, acute hemorrhage, and brain death were excluded from the study.

Results: We examined data from 100 patients with isolated TBI who underwent ECG and echocardiographic evaluation. ECG changes among 53% of mild cases showed a heart rate of 60-100/min, and 2% of cases showed more than 100/min. Prolonged pulse rate (PR) interval was observed in 8%, 11%, and 16% of mild, moderate, and severe cases, while no changes in PR interval were observed in 65% of cases. A prolonged QRS pattern was observed in 5%, 7%, and 15% of mild, moderate, and severe cases. A normal QRS complex was observed in 71% of cases. Prolonged QTc was observed in 3%, 10%, and 15% of cases in mild, moderate, and severe cases, respectively.

Conclusion: Repolarization abnormalities, but not ischemic-like ECG changes, are associated with cardiac dysfunction after isolated TBI. 12-lead ECG may be an inexpensive screening tool to evaluate isolated TBI patients for cardiac dysfunction.

Keywords: Cardiac function; Echocardiography; Electrocardiography; Traumatic brain injury.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

References

    1. Baguley IJ, Heriseanu RE, Felmingham KL, Cameron ID. Dysautonomia and heart rate variability following severe traumatic brain injury. Brain Inj. 2006;20:437–44. - PubMed
    1. Chesnut RM, Marshall LF, Klauber MR, Blunt BA, Baldwin N, Eisenberg HM, et al. The role of secondary brain injury in determining outcome from severe head injury. J Trauma. 1993;34:216–22. - PubMed
    1. Deibert E, Barzilai B, Braverman AC, Edwards DF, Aiyagari V, Dacey R, et al. Clinical significance of elevated troponin I levels in patients with nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage. J Neurosurg. 2003;98:741–6. - PubMed
    1. Fan X, DU FH, Tian JP. The electrocardiographic changes in acute brain injury patients. Chin Med J (Engl) 2012;125:3430–3. - PubMed
    1. Gregory T, Smith M. Cardiovascular complications of brain injury. Contin Educ Anaesth Crit Care Pain. 2012;12:67–71.

LinkOut - more resources