Craniocerebral trauma is a mechanical damage to the skull and intracranial formations, which are the brain, cranial nerves, vessels, meninges. Types of such injuries are divided into open and closed injuries.
The main factors that determine the type of injury are:
- duration of loss of consciousness;
- the level of oppression of consciousness at the time of hospitalization;
- presence or absence of neurologic stem.
Based on these characteristics, experts assess the trauma, prescribe treatment and make predictions.
Open craniocerebral trauma
An open craniocerebral trauma is characterized by a skull defect, which can be complicated by the presence of foreign bodies inside the skull. A defect is considered significant if its area exceeds 3 square meters. see In this type of injury there is a threat of infection and the occurrence of purulent complications, which will significantly affect the health of the patient. As a result of fracture of the base of the skull, there is a possibility of a post-traumatic basal liquorrhea.
After a serious injury, complications caused by cicatricial changes in the membranes of the brain may appear. This is fraught with:
- Jackson's epileptic seizures;
- occlusive hydrocephalus and other diseases.
Closed craniocerebral injury
Immediately it is worth noting that a serious closed craniocerebral injury is diagnosed more often than the open one. There are four stages of its development:
- Initial stage. It is characterized by loss of consciousness - from coma to nullification. At the end of this stage, there is amnesia, in some cases - not complete.
- The acute stage. Its main feature is stunning. Sometimes patients who are in this state are in a state of "intoxication." During the course of this stage, the patient develops dizziness, headache, severe weakness, anemia.
- Late stage. During this period, the patient has an unstable state, since the symptoms of the previous stage have not completely disappeared. Also, the late stage is characterized by psychosis .
- Residual stage. During this period, doctors determine the course of the disease, as it is characterized by persistent local symptoms.
In the initial and acute periods of injury there is a significant correlation between the nature of the lesion and the clinical picture. Because of what doctors can not always give predictions for the further development of the situation.
In case of craniocerebral trauma, a correct rehabilitation course is necessary, which is able even in the most hopeless situations to return the patient to life.