Biomaterial Database

Incidence of extracranial injuries in fatal head injury patients. 1990

C S Buss, and C J Nel, and C M van den Heever

Department of Surgery, University of the Orange Free State, Bloemfontein.

The clinical notes of 148 patients who were admitted with head injuries and died were studied retrospectively and compared with the results of a postmortem examination. Risk factors predicting the presence of extracranial injuries were sought. Fourteen per cent of patients admitted with head injuries died. Two risk factors predicted the presence of extracranial injuries: 67% of the patients with an associated injury had been involved in a motor vehicle accident (MVA), compared with 32% of those with a head injury only. Shock was five times as common in the group with associated injuries than in those without. Associated injuries were present in 45% of patients, and 37% of these injuries were not diagnosed on admission. In 7% these injuries were the final cause of death. This study re-emphasises the fact that multi-organ trauma is common after MVA, and shock due to hypovolaemia is an unusual complication of head injury. Searching for associated injuries is mandatory in the head-injured patient. Since clinical examination is inaccurate, special investigations, such as peritoneal lavage or computed tomography, should be utilised for this purpose.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007223	Infant	A child between 1 and 23 months of age.	Infants
D008297	Male		Males
D008875	Middle Aged	An adult aged 45 - 64 years.	Middle Age
D009104	Multiple Trauma	Multiple physical insults or injuries occurring simultaneously.	Injuries, Multiple,Trauma, Multiple,Wounds, Multiple,Multiple Injuries,Polytrauma,Injury, Multiple,Multiple Injury,Multiple Traumas,Multiple Wound,Multiple Wounds,Polytraumas,Traumas, Multiple,Wound, Multiple
D002423	Cause of Death	Factors which produce cessation of all vital bodily functions. They can be analyzed from an epidemiologic viewpoint.	Causes of Death,Death Cause,Death Causes
D002648	Child	A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL.	Children
D002675	Child, Preschool	A child between the ages of 2 and 5.	Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D005260	Female		Females
D006259	Craniocerebral Trauma	Traumatic injuries involving the cranium and intracranial structures (i.e., BRAIN; CRANIAL NERVES; MENINGES; and other structures). Injuries may be classified by whether or not the skull is penetrated (i.e., penetrating vs. nonpenetrating) or whether there is an associated hemorrhage.	Frontal Region Trauma,Head Injuries,Head Trauma,Occipital Region Trauma,Parietal Region Trauma,Temporal Region Trauma,Craniocerebral Injuries,Crushing Skull Injury,Forehead Trauma,Head Injuries, Multiple,Head Injury, Minor,Head Injury, Open,Head Injury, Superficial,Injuries, Craniocerebral,Injuries, Head,Multiple Head Injuries,Occipital Trauma,Open Head Injury,Superficial Head Injury,Trauma, Head,Craniocerebral Injury,Craniocerebral Traumas,Crushing Skull Injuries,Forehead Traumas,Frontal Region Traumas,Head Injuries, Minor,Head Injuries, Open,Head Injuries, Superficial,Head Injury,Head Injury, Multiple,Head Traumas,Injuries, Minor Head,Injuries, Multiple Head,Injuries, Open Head,Injuries, Superficial Head,Injury, Craniocerebral,Injury, Head,Injury, Minor Head,Injury, Multiple Head,Injury, Open Head,Injury, Superficial Head,Minor Head Injuries,Minor Head Injury,Multiple Head Injury,Occipital Region Traumas,Occipital Traumas,Open Head Injuries,Parietal Region Traumas,Region Trauma, Frontal,Region Trauma, Occipital,Region Trauma, Parietal,Region Traumas, Frontal,Region Traumas, Occipital,Region Traumas, Parietal,Skull Injuries, Crushing,Skull Injury, Crushing,Superficial Head Injuries,Temporal Region Traumas,Trauma, Craniocerebral,Trauma, Forehead,Trauma, Frontal Region,Trauma, Occipital,Trauma, Occipital Region,Trauma, Parietal Region,Trauma, Temporal Region,Traumas, Craniocerebral,Traumas, Forehead,Traumas, Frontal Region,Traumas, Head,Traumas, Occipital,Traumas, Occipital Region,Traumas, Parietal Region,Traumas, Temporal Region
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man