Pattern of Skull Fractures and Its Outcome in Pediatric Head Injury Patients

Objective: Skull fractures are common in pediatric age group. The surgical management of paediatric patients with a skull fracture differs among institutions and surgeons. Our object of this study was to assess the pattern of skull fractures and outcome in paediatric population. Material and Methods: This study was conducted in the department of neurosurgery of a tertiary care hospital from June 2018 to April 2020. We included 152 children between ages 5 to 11 years who were brought with the head trauma and diagnosed to have skull fracture on computerized tomography (CT) Scan brain. Results: The mean age of patients was 6.91 + 1.84 years. There were 59.8% males and 40.1% females. The most common type of fracture at presentation was depressed fracture in 42% patients, followed by linear (35%) and compound fractures (23%). Parietal fractures were the commonest (63.1%) in our study. Associated intracranial hematomas were seen in 37.5% patients, epidural hematoma being the most common. Surgically treated patients were 36%. Good recovery was seen in 73% patients while mortality was 10.5%. Conclusion: Isolated skull fractures are overall benign conditions. Linear parietal skull fractures have good outcome amongst all fracture types.

Pediatric Head Injury

Blunt head trauma (BHT) is the leading cause of trauma-related death and disability in children worldwide. Pediatric BHT is a common presenting complaint in acute care settings. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) manifests as a continuum from minor to severe, with cases of minor TBI vastly outnumbering severe cases. Clinicians must be able to identify patients at low risk for TBI who do not require additional observation or testing while at the same time not missing higher risk patients. This chapter presents an evidence-based approach to the evaluation and management of BHT in pediatric patients across all ages and spectrums of severity.

Early Outcome of Surgery in Pediatric Head Injury: Experience From a Tertiary Care Center in Eastern Nepal

Introduction Head injuries among the pediatric age group remain an unwelcomed source of morbidity and mortality resulting from falls, motor vehicle accidents, assaults, and child abuse. Early identification and management of traumatic brain injury (TBI) are crucial in halting the progress of the primary insult and preventing or reducing secondary brain injury. The present study aims to investigate the major cause of pediatric TBI and analyze the early outcome and serve as a reference study from a tertiary care center in eastern Nepal. MethodsThis is a prospective cohort study conducted in the Department of Pediatric Medicine and Neurosurgery from February 2018 to January 2020. All the pediatric head injury cases that were managed surgically in the center were included in the study. Presenting Glasgow coma scale (GCS) was correlated with the Glasgow outcome scale (GOS). ResultsThe study population comprised of 65 patients fulfilling the study inclusion criteria. The mean age of the study population was 10.86±4.72 years, fall was the commonest mode of injury (52.3%), 50.8% had mild TBI, 43.1% had moderate TBI and 6.2% had severe TBI. Depressed skull fracture with underlying extradural hematoma (EDH) or contusion was the commonest pathological diagnosis seen in 30.8 % (20) cases. The mean duration of hospital stay was 2.6 days. The presenting GCS correlated well with the outcome. ConclusionThis study concluded that the timely management of pediatric TBI can prevent grave prognosis and the patients presenting GCS and the pupillary reaction has strong correlation with the outcome.

Telephone Triage in Pediatric Head Injury: Follow-up Patterns and Subsequent Diagnosis of Concussion

Head injuries in childhood can result in concussion. Families of a child with a head injury often seek medical advice through telephone triage call systems. It is important to understand if patients follow telephone triage recommendations and what proportion of triage calls result in subsequent concussion diagnosis. We used a one-year retrospective cohort of triage calls screened with the Barton Schmitt Pediatric Head Injury Telephone Triage Protocol. The objectives were to estimate the proportion who followed up with urgent recommendations to see a provider and determine prevalence of diagnoses of concussion. Out of 2,454 calls with recommendations to be seen urgently, the estimated proportion of being seen in the medical home network or an outside health care facility was 84.1%. Estimated overall diagnoses of concussion among those who were seen was 39.5%. These data can be used to improve patient education and follow-up, as well as the utility of the telephone triage system.