Investigating head injury (summary)

Last revised by Daniel J Bell on 2 Apr 2018

Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data

Citation:

Smith D, Bell D, Hacking C, et al. Investigating head injury (summary). Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 25 Apr 2024) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-35539

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-35539

Permalink:

https://radiopaedia.org/articles/35539

rID:

35539

Article created:

9 Apr 2015, Derek Smith ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was created Derek Smith had no recorded disclosures.

View Derek Smith's current disclosures

Last revised:

2 Apr 2018, Daniel J Bell ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was last revised Daniel J Bell had no recorded disclosures.

View Daniel J Bell's current disclosures

Revisions:

15 times, by 5 contributors - see full revision history and disclosures

Systems:

Central Nervous System, Trauma

Tags:

neuro, medical student, summary

This is a basic article for medical students and other non-radiologists

Investigating head injury is frequently required because head injury is common: in the US there are 1.3 million traumatic brain injuries per year ¹. Causes include falls (children and the elderly), motor vehicle accidents (adults) ¹, or direct trauma from an object, assault or inflicted injuries (pediatric patients).

questions
- what was the mechanism of injury?
- what was the GCS and what is it now?
- has the patient been unconscious?
- is the patient protecting their airway?
- is the patient safe to leave their current environment?
investigations
- CT head
  - most useful investigation
  - non-contrast examination from skull vertex to palate
  - usually performed as a volume allowing reconstruction
  - particularly useful for hemorrhage and fractures
- MRI
  - occasionally used
  - useful in patients who are not waking up
making the request
- does a CT need to be done?
  - NICE guidance, Canadian CT head rules
- does it need to be done urgently?
  - why?
- is the patient safe to come to CT?
common pathology