CT of head trauma

Neuroimaging Clin N Am. 1998 Aug;8(3):525-39.

Abstract

The advent of CT in the early 1970s revolutionized the diagnosis and management of head trauma patients. CT remains to be the imaging modality of choice in the evaluation of patients with acute head trauma. High resolution CT is excellent for evaluating facial and skull fractures. Neurosurgically significant lesions such as epidural hematomas, subdural hematomas, or depressed skull fractures are already detected by CT. The early detection of extra-axial hematomas made possible by the increased availability of CT, results in early surgical interventions with marked improvement in morbidity and mortality in head trauma patients.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Acute Disease
  • Brain Injuries / diagnostic imaging
  • Cerebral Hemorrhage / diagnostic imaging
  • Craniocerebral Trauma / diagnostic imaging*
  • Craniocerebral Trauma / surgery
  • Evaluation Studies as Topic
  • Facial Bones / diagnostic imaging
  • Facial Bones / injuries
  • Hematoma, Epidural, Cranial / diagnostic imaging
  • Hematoma, Subdural / diagnostic imaging
  • Humans
  • Radiographic Image Enhancement
  • Skull Fractures / diagnostic imaging
  • Subarachnoid Hemorrhage / diagnostic imaging
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed*
  • Treatment Outcome