Resuscitation with Pooled and Pathogen-Reduced Plasma Attenuates the Increase in Brain Water Content following Traumatic Brain Injury and Hemorrhagic Shock in Rats.

Traumatic brain injury and hemorrhagic shock is associated with blood-brain barrier (BBB) breakdown and edema formation. Recent animal studies have shown that fresh frozen plasma (FFP) resuscitation reduces brain swelling and improves endothelial function compared to isotonic NaCl (NS). The aim of this study was to investigate whether pooled and pathogen-reduced plasma (OctaplasLG [OCTA]; Octapharma, Stockholm, Sweden) was comparable to FFP with regard to effects on brain water content, BBB permeability, and plasma biomarkers of endothelial glycocalyx shedding and cell damage. After fluid percussion brain injury, hemorrhage (20 mL/kg), and 90-min shock, 48 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized to resuscitation with OCTA, FFP, or NS (n = 16/group). Brain water content (wet/dry weight) and BBB permeability (transfer constant for Cr-EDTA) were measured at 24 h. Plasma osmolality, oncotic pressure, and biomarkers of systemic glycocalyx shedding (syndecan-1) and cell damage (histone-complexed DNA) were measured at 0 and 23 h. At 24 h, brain water content was 80.44 ± 0.39%, 80.82 ± 0.82%, and 81.15 ± 0.86% in the OCTA, FFP, and NS groups (lower in OCTA vs. NS; p = 0.026), with no difference in BBB permeability. Plasma osmolality and oncotic pressures were highest in FFP and OCTA resuscitated, and osmolality was further highest in OCTA versus FFP (p = 0.027). In addition, syndecan-1 was highest in FFP and OCTA resuscitated (p = 0.010). These results suggest that pooled solvent-detergent (SD)-treated plasma attenuates the post-traumatic increase in brain water content, and that this effect may, in part, be explained by a high crystalloid and colloid osmotic pressure in SD-treated plasma.