[Diagnosis and differential therapy of edema and swelling of the brain in patients in critical conditions].

A total of 181 patients found in critical conditions were examined and treated. The use of a complex of neurophysiological studies including brain plethysmography++, rheoencephalography and echoencephalography in patients with encephalopathies made it possible to carry out early and differential diagnosis of brain edema and swelling and to exercise dynamic control over those processes. The basis of the treatment of patients with brain swelling was formed by the drugs that ameliorate microcirculation, cerebral blood flow and brain metabolism. In the treatment of brain edema, use was made of the drugs that normalize blood-brain barrier function and of dehydration therapy.