The practice of using Mannitol in high doses rather than in conventional doses for patients with brain injuries may not be based on studies after all. The leading doctor of the study, a neurologist by the name of Dr. Julian Cruz of Brazil, died in 2005. His claimed affiliation with the institution where the study was supposed to have occurred is in serious doubt. The institution-- the Federal University of Sao Paulo-- has stated that it doesn't know who he is and in fact never hired him. The remaining authors of the study refused to offer a retraction.
Three trials were supposedly conducted between 2001 and 2004. The results were published in peer-reviewed literature. The results purported that fatalities and long-term disabilities were lowered at six months post-injury in the group of patients which received the higher dose of mannitol.
The Cochrane Collaboration was unable to verify that the study had even occurred or where the patients had been gotten from. The death of Dr. Cruz and his lack of genuine affiliation with the institution listed on the study leaves the Cochrane Collaboration with no recourse. Thus, a serious quandary exists when making critical dosing decisions regarding mannitol when the drug is otherwise indicated in the treatment of t.b.i.
sapphoq healing tbi
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/552607
and British Medical Journal February 24, 2007;334:392-394.
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