Traumatic Brain Injury Flashcards
causes of tbi
vehicle crashes, falls, firearms, sports/recreation, others
common ages and groups at risk for tbi
<5 yo, 15-24 yo, >70 yo
males, 0-4 yo, 15-19 yo, >75 (most hospitalization and deaths)
coup vs contrecoup forces
coup: produce effects at or near impact site
contrecoup: remote from the area of impact (opposite side)
> 2 sqin vs <2 sqin objects
> 2 sqin: localized skull bending immediately beneath the impact point
<2 sqin: penetrating injury
examples of local effects
linear fractures (hairline crack) depressed fractures epidural hematoma subdural hematoma coup contusion
examples of remote contact effects
due to skull distortion or stress waves
remote vault fractures
what are inertial injuries: shearing and vessel injury
differential movement of the skull and brain produced by head acceleration
(brain lags behind skull for a brief moment after acceleration begins)
can tear bridging vessels, and cause structural or functional brain damage
types of head acceleration
translation (linear)
rotation
angular (most damaging)
what are bridging veins
parasagittal bridging veins connect brain and sagittal sinus
located in subdural space
what are inertial injuries: parenchymal injury
strain manifesting as classic “cerebral concussion”, diffuse axonal injury, hemorrhage, and contrecoup contusions
types of parenchymal injuries
shear* (different directions)
forward backward affects projection fibers
side to side affects commissural fibers (in corpus callosum)
rotational affects association fibers (front to back)
primary vs secondary brain damage
primary: effects of actual trauma on the brain at the moment of injury (not preventable)
secondary brain damage: complication of primary brain damage, usually inc icp
categories of brain injuries
skull fracture focal injury diffuse injury penetrating injury blast injury
types of skull fractures
open (compound) closed (simple) depressed diastatic basilar
t/f open fractures require more aggressive treatment
true, due to exposure to external environment
indications for nonsurgical intervention in closed fractures
not depressed
linear type for fracture
indication for surgery in depressed fractures
if depressed fracture is greater than thickness of calvaria and those not meeting criteria for nonsurgical management
indications for non-surgical management in depressed fracture
no evidence of dural penetration no significant intracranial hematoma depression <1 cm no frontal sinus involvement no wound infection or gross contamination no gross cosmetic deformity
t/f elevating depressed fractures can reduce post traumatic seizures
false, no evidence of this
DEPTH OF FRACTURE correlates to how much pressure on brain
what are fractures through suture lines called
diastatic fractures
types of petrous bone fracture
longitudinal fracture through petrosqumousal suture
transverse fracture: perpendicular to eac –> cn 7 and 8 defects, peripheral facial palsy
what are postauricular ecchymoses called
battle’s sign
management of csf leak at eardrum
slow type of bleeding: venous origin = can be stopped with pressure
put cotton ball in ear (tamponade effect)
refer to neurosurgeon/ent