Sem 3, case 10 (head and neck injury)

Question 1

What are the immediate investigations done in suspected head/neck injury?

Answer 1

• history
• ABCDE-G assessment
• base of skull fracture exam
• C-spine exam
• GCS assessment
• CT scan

Question 2

What type is scan should be requested if 1 pupil is fixed and dilated ?

Answer 2

A CT scan

Maybe an MRI scan later down the line
(Looking for stroke or tumour usually)

Question 3

What can frontotemporal damage cause?

Answer 3

Motor difficulties
Behavioural changes
Trouble communicating

Question 4

What can temporal lobe damage cause?

Answer 4

Problems with hearing
Impaired long-term memory
Impaired factual memory
Difficulty learning/retaining new info

Question 5

What can occipital lobe damage cause?

Answer 5

Visual impairments (blindness, blind spots…)
Visual illusions/distortions
Word blindness (inability to recognise words)
Difficulty recognising drawn objects

Question 6

What can frontal lobe damage cause?

Answer 6

Impairment of problem solving
Attention and memory deficits
Changes in social behaviour

Question 7

What can parietal lobe damage cause?

Answer 7

Limited processing of sensory information
Difficulty with spatial awareness
Poor proprioception
Inability to understand spoken/written language (wernickes)