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Medical Author:

Benjamin Wedro, MD, FACEP, FAAEM

Benjamin Wedro, MD, FACEP, FAAEM

Dr. Ben Wedro practices emergency medicine at Gundersen Clinic, a regional trauma center in La Crosse, Wisconsin. His background includes undergraduate and medical studies at the University of Alberta, a Family Practice internship at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario and residency training in Emergency Medicine at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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The physical examination and the history of the exact details of the injury are the first steps in caring for a patient with head injury. The patient's past medical history and medication usage will also be important factors in deciding the next steps. Plain skull X-rays are rarely done for the evaluation of head injury. It is more important to assess brain function than to look at the bones that surround the brain. Plain X-ray films may be considered in infants to look for a fracture, depending upon the clinical situation.

Computerized tomography (CT) scan of the head allows the brain to be imaged and examined for bleeding and swelling in the brain. It can also evaluate bony injuries to the skull and look for bleeding in the sinuses of the face associated with basilar skull fractures. CT does not assess brain function, and patients suffering axonal shear injury may be comatose with a normal CT scan of the head.

Numerous guidelines exist to give direction as to when a CT should be completed in patients who present awake after sustaining a minor head injury.

The Ottawa CT head rules apply to patients age 2 to 65.

High Risk

• Glasgow Coma Scale less than 15, two hours after injury
  
  
• Suspect open or depressed skull fracture
  
  
• Sign of basilar skull fracture
  
  
• Vomiting more than once
  
  
• Older than 65 years of age

Medium Risk

• Amnesia before impact greater than 30 minutes
  
  
• Dangerous mechanism of injury

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