Basics of head injury as per atls

1. Head Injury
Indications for
investigations
in emergency
Dr. Navam Dhiman
Junior Resident
Department of General Surgery
IGMC Shimla
Department of Neurosurgery
Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla

2. Available
Investigations
• Blood
• X- Ray
• Lumbar Puncture
• Carotid Angiography
• Electroencephalography
• Echo-encephalography
• Ultrasonography
• Brain Scan
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• Ventriculography
• Inspection Holes

3. Blood Investigations
• Haemoglobin, Coagulation Studies
• Diabetes
• Renal Functions
• Electrolyte Imbalance

4. X ray
• Fracture of Skull
• Fracture of Spine (Screening)
• Suspected Injury to specific part of spine

6. Brain Scan (CT)
• GCS Score less than 15 after 2 hours of injury
• Suspected Open or Depressed Skull fracture
• Any sign of basilar skull fracture
• Vomiting (more than 2 episodes)
• Age more than 65 years
• Anti-coagulant use
• LOC for more than 5 minutes
• Amnesia before impact (>30 mins)
• Dangerous Mechanism of Injury