"Small Steps, B.I.G. Impact": Improving Outcomes in Traumatic Brain Injury

Sunday, April 12, 2026

5:30 PM - 5:50 PM PT

Location: Cascade Ballroom I - 2nd Floor

CE: 0.25 CME Credit

Speaker(s)

Kene Chukwuanu, MD, FAAEM (he/him/his)

Associate Residency Program Director; Associate Clinical Professor - Emergency Medicine & Critical Care Medicine
Saint Louis University School of Medicine/SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital
St. Louis, Missouri

Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose

Co-Speaker(s)

Bassam Zahid, MD MS FAAEM E-AEC (he/him/his)

Clinical Assistant Professor
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Miami, Florida

Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose

Disclosure(s):

Kene Chukwuanu, MD, FAAEM: No financial relationships to disclose

Bassam Zahid, MD, MS, FAAEM: No financial relationships to disclose

From a small concussion to severe blunt & penetrating trauma, closed head injuries can vary in terms of acute management. How should I sedate? How should I Intubate and Ventilate? When should we start hypertonic saline? What are the deterioration warning signs to look for?...In this session, we will discuss how to implement the Brain Injury Guidelines for application to your next TBI patient presenting to the emergency department, through a case-based discussion. We will also present evidence based protocols on management of TBI patients including a review of recent updates in the literature regarding traumatically brain injured patients.

Learning Objectives:

Define and classify the spectrum of Traumatic Brain Injury and identify pitfalls in the ED evaluation of TBI patients.
Discuss the Brain Injury Guidelines and their application to the TBI patient presenting to the ED.
Discuss advanced management strategies for the traumatic brain injured patient from the ICU that can be applied to ED care to improve TBI outcomes.