CT Scan Findings and Outcomes of Head Injury Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Trauma secondary to road traffic accidents (RTA) constitutes a major cause of head injury. Every trauma victim with altered level of consciousness must be evaluated for brain injury. Radiological evaluation has undergone dramatic changes with the advent of computed tomography (CT) as it can precisely define the nature and location of the culprit lesion(s). Method: This cross-sectional study includes 382 patients, admitted to the emergency department of our hospital, from September 2008 to September 2010. We present results of evaluation by CT on the nature and location of the identified lesion(s). Results: CT scans revealed skull fractures 62.04%), intra-cerebral hematoma (46.33%), epidural hematoma (30.36%), subdural hematoma (19.37%), subarachnoid hematoma (28.79%), diffuse axonal injury, brain swelling and edema (63.35%), midline shift (24.34%), pneumocranium (12.04%) and intra-ventricular hemorrhage (10.73%) in our study. We also found that young males between the ages of 20 and 40 years were predominantly involved with head trauma due to road traffic accidents. Conclusion: CT scan has detected and precisely localized the parenchymal damage of brain and effectively predicted the functional outcome.