A Prospective Study of Spectrum of Depressed Fractures of Skull and its Surgical Outcome

ABSTRACT Background Depressed skull fracture is a very serious type of trauma occurring in 11% of severe head injuries, and there is a consistent association between the presence of cranial fracture and higher incidence of intracranial lesions, neurological deficit, and poor outcome. Depressed cranial fractures have to be treated aggressively because of their association with infection and late epilepsy. Objectives To study the clinical profile and surgical outcome of patients with depressed cranial fractures. Materials and methods A case series study of 44 patients with depressed fracture was conducted in a tertiary care hospital setting at the Department of Neurosurgery, Vijayanagara Institute of Medical Sciences, Bellary, Karnataka, during the period from June 2013 to January 2015. Among the selected patients, the clinical profile, radiological profile, and surgical interventions were undertaken and the outcomes were noted. Appropriate descriptive statistics were used to analyze the findings and to draw inferences. Results There were 30 males and 14 females. The mean age of the patients was 26.95 ± 14.87 years (6–65 years). The common cause of depressed fracture was road traffic accident (45%) and assault (40.9%); 63% of them had compound type and half of the fractures were located in the frontal region. Common associated injuries were extradural hematoma (50%) followed by dural tear (27.3%). Common complications were wound infection (9.1%) and cerebrospinal fluid leak (9.1%). Conclusion The management of depressed fractures should be individualized depending on factors like the degree of depression, communication with the exterior, neurological deficit and presence of associated injuries. How to cite this article Sidram V, Kumar PCC, Raghavendra B. A Prospective Study of Spectrum of Depressed Fractures