Head injury Flashcards
(30 cards)
Give examples of signs that may suggest head fracture
- History of significant head trauma
- Unconsciousness
- Presence of a marked swelling or deep scalp laceration
- Periorbital bruising (racoon eyes)
- Periauricular bruising (Battle’s sign)
- Presence of blood benign the eardrum or bleeding from the ear
If skull fracture is suspected what should you do
CT scan is indicated
What is an injured brain more susceptible to and why
hypo or hyper volaemic change and hypoxia due to destruction in autoregualtion of cerebral blood flow
How can head injuries be classified
Using the severity based on the Glasgow coma scale
Give examples of different types of brain injury
- Concussion
- Contusion
- Diffuse axonal injury
- Cerebral oedema
- Intracranial haemorrhage
- Extradural haemorrhage
- Subdural haemorrhage
- Intracerebral haemorrhage
Describe concussions
Most common brain injury where trauma is minor and symptoms are slight and short lived
Give examples of symptom seen in concussion
- Dizzy
- Brief loss of consciousness
- Nausea
- Head aches
- Feeling tired
Describe contusion
Bruise (bleeding) on the brain
List some symptoms of contusion
- Function controlled by damaged area will be lost or compromised
- severe contusion to brainstem may cause coma
When does diffuse axonal injury occur
Arises from trauma that results in tearing of nerve structures
What can happen as a result of diffuse axonal injury
Loss of consciousness, coma and possible death
When can cerebral oedema occur
Following injury
What can inflammation lead to in the brain
Increased permeability of the blood vessels in the brain space and allow fluid accumulation
What can we prescribe to patients with moderate to severe head injury to precent cerebral oedema
Anti inflammatory drugs and intravenous mannitol
What can intracranial haemorrhage result from
Head trauma
describe the process of intracranial haemorrhage
Blood leaking from ruptured vessels can enter the extradural and/or subdural spaces. Accumulation of blood within the skull increases intracranial pressure and compresses the brain tissue
What does extradural haemorrhage describe
A bleed in the space between the skull and dirt mater often from the middle meningeal artery
Describe some of symptoms of an extradural haemorrhage
- Loss of consciousness at the time of injury, recover and then, after a lucid interval, deteriorate quickly, becoming deeply comatose
- Increased blood pressure
- Falling pulse rate
- contralateral limb weakness
- ipsilateral pupillary dilatation
What is subdural haemorrhage most likely a complication of
A high velocity injury pt is usually unconscious from the time fo injury
What happens in a subdural haemorrhage
Bleeding occurs below the dura mater and spread over the brain surface
What is a subdural haemorrhage associated with
A deteriorating level of consciousness and the underlying brain damage is more severe
How do we manage extra dural and subdural haemorrhage
surgical managers to decrease the intracerebral pressure by removing the haematoma and repair of seal off the damaged vessels
What does an Intracerebral haemorrhage arise due
A result of bleeding from small arteries or veins into the subcortical white matter
What does an intracerebal haemorrhage usually arise following
Rupture of a vascular anomaly such as an aneurysm
