PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

B Wroblewski

Publications and source records attributed to B Wroblewski.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1994

Quantification of attention-related behaviors in individuals with traumatic brain injury. A pilot study.

Clinical disorders of attention are common after traumatic brain injury but objective measures of their nature and severity are lacking. We developed a standardized independent work task to be performed by patients in a controlled, distracting environment. Videotaped records of patient behavior were made and coded in 15-s intervals for on-task behavior, presence of distractors and presence of extraneous motor behavior. Interrater reliability was good to excellent across eleven testing sessions involving four patients. This evaluation system revealed clinically important differences in on-task behavior among the four patients, as well as different levels of distraction in response to external stimuli. It also showed effects of different tasks and repeated sessions. These data indicate that this evaluation system and accompanying coding process are reliable and provide preliminary evidence that they produce clinically valid results.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Topics in parenteral nutrition for the 1990s.

Research and development in parenteral nutrition delivery systems, infection control, and new therapeutic agents promise to optimize the use of parenteral nutrition for the 1990s. Nurses must integrate these new technologies into patient care and apply research findings to clinical practice. Critical care nurses are at the forefront of these changes because of their unique position as expert clinicians at the bedside of the patients most in need of nutritional interventions.

Contraindications↗
PubMed1989

Lithium carbonate for aggressive behavior or affective instability in ten brain-injured patients.

Lithium carbonate (LiCO3) was used to treat 10 brain-injured patients with severe, unremitting, aggressive, combative, or self destructive behavior or severe affective instability. Five patients had a dramatic response that resulted in significant improvement in their participation in a rehabilitative program. One other patient had a moderate response. A seventh patient improved dramatically, but regressed after 7 wk. Three other patients had neurotoxic side effects that precluded continued use of the medication. Two of them were simultaneously taking neuroleptic agents. These case reports provide further evidence that LiCO3 can be a useful medication in the treatment of aggressive behavior and affective instability after brain injury, but that it has significant potential for neurotoxicity in this population, particularly when used in conjunction with neuroleptic agents.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Protriptyline as an alternative stimulant medication in patients with brain injury: a series of case reports.

The results of a series of eight individual case reports in which protriptyline, an activating tricyclic antidepressant, was used as a 'stimulant' medication are presented. For some patients with head injury, traditional stimulants, such as methylphenidate, or dopaminergic stimulants, such as levodopa-carbidopa, amantadine, or bromocriptine, may be partially or totally ineffective or not tolerated. Protriptyline can be a very effective alternative and, for some patients, may be the most effective stimulant tried. In low to moderate doses, protriptyline should be considered for trials as an activating/stimulant medication in patients with head injury.

Activities of Daily Living↗