brain injury + spinal cord injury Flashcards
definition of traumatic brain injury?
anything that affects the skin, skull, or brain
causes of traumatic brain injury?
Blunt trauma caused by an object or falling, motor vehicle accident, sporting activities, violence, child abuse
groups at risk for traumatic brain injury?
elderly, young adults, men, falls (toddlers)
what is the leading cause of death and disability among children?
head injury
what is a penetrating injury?
penetrating injury (open injury)
- skull is not intact
- brian / meningies is exposed
- involves skull fracture with penetration of the dura matar and possibly brain tissue
- requires surgery to debride, clean, remove clots, prevent infection
- area of damage is localized to the path of the object
what is a blunt injury?
blunt injury (closed injury)
- more common
- brain tissue remains covered
- rotational injuries
- acceleration/deceleration injury
- skull remains intact
- no external damage evident
- brain / meninges not exposed
what are the two types of traumatic brain injury?
1) Focal:
- generally associated with direct impact to the head
- specific, localized injuries to the brain
2) Diffuse:
- widespread, not limited to a localized area
- difficult to detect and treat
what is included in focal brain injuries?
- skull fractures
- contusions
- hematomas (epidural, sudbural, intracranial)
what are the types of skull fractures?
1) Linear (crack in skull)
2) Depressed (makes a dent in skull and depresses brain- causes ICP)
3) Basilar (basal) - is a break of a bone in the base of the skull.
- CSF leaks from nose or ear
- periorbital bruising (around eyes)* sign of this fracture
- battles sign (bruising behind ear)
- because meningies is torn, these ppl have high risk for meningitis
what is the halo sign?
The “halo” or “double-ring” sign is a classic image in medicine and was taught as a method for determining whether bloody discharge from the ears or nose contained cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
-its a ring of fluid around the blood stain
what is a contusion?
-the bruising of brain tissue
-frequently located on frontal and temporal lobes
-often are “” injuries
“coup’ = intital bruise made
“contrecoup” = bruise that occurs after (rebound bruise) second impact
what kind of changes can occur if the frontal lobe is damaged?
-behavior, personality changes, motor deficits, organizing, planning, problem-solving, attention, motor cortex
what can be affected if the temporal lobe is damaged?
speech and hearing, language recognition, long-term memory, intellect, emotion
what is coup-contrecoup?
when the brain moves inside the cranial cavity and collides with cranial surface
- bounces backward from the point of impact, colliding with the opposite wall of the skull
- may result in two focal injuries or diffuse axonal injury throughout
- the initial “coup” is relatively small
what is a hematoma?
an accumulation of clotted blood within the tissues (big blood clot within the brain
- classified according to location:
1) Epidural (outside the dura)
2) Subdural (underneath the dura)
3) Intracerebral (within the brain tissue)
whats the difference between epidural and subdrual hematomas?
-both increase pressure in the brain and are both potentially fatal
Difference:
Epidural: blood vessels here are mosly arteries (arterial soruce of bleeding, so hematoma will accumulate faster (will have an initial loss of conciousness and then regain conciousness) followed by sudden but fast decline and another loss of consciousness
Subdural: blood vessels in this space are mostly veins, so accumulates slower
impact to where can induce an epidural hematoma?
impact to the temporal area
what happens to the arteris when force of impact is transfered to the brain?
arteries are sheared
what are more common, epidural or subdural hematomas?
subdural are more common
where is the subdural hematoma located?
it is the accululation of blood between the dura and arachnoid layers of the meninges
signs and symptoms of an acute subdural hematoma?
- headache
- drowsiness
- confusion
- slowed thinking
- agitation
what is an intracebral (within brain) hematoma?
Accumulation of blood in parenchyma of brain tissue rather than between the menigies
- results from trauma with high-impact blow to the head
- Signs and symptoms depend on location and may include headache, decreasing LOC, dilation of one pupil, and hemiplegia