The significance of skull fracture in mild head trauma differs between children and adults

The significance of skull fracture in mild head trauma differs between children and adults

The objective was to determine whether the age of patients with mild head injury and skull fracture influences the level of risk for acute intracranial injuries. A study was conducted of 156 patients with skull fracture, 60 children (aged <14 years) and 96 adults, detected among 5,097 consecutive...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Child's nervous system Vol. 21; no. 2; pp. 128 - 132
Main Authors: Muñoz-Sánchez, M A, Murillo-Cabezas, F, Cayuela, A, Flores-Cordero, J M, Rincón-Ferrari, M D, Amaya-Villar, R, Fornelino, A
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Germany 01-02-2005
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Age Factors
Chi-Square Distribution
Child
Child, Preschool
Craniocerebral Trauma - complications
Craniocerebral Trauma - pathology
Female
Glasgow Coma Scale - statistics & numerical data
Humans
Infant
Male
Middle Aged
Neurologic Examination
Retrospective Studies
Risk Factors
Skull Fractures - etiology
Skull Fractures - pathology
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
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Summary:The objective was to determine whether the age of patients with mild head injury and skull fracture influences the level of risk for acute intracranial injuries. A study was conducted of 156 patients with skull fracture, 60 children (aged <14 years) and 96 adults, detected among 5,097 consecutive patients with mild head injury (Glasgow Coma Scale [GCS] score of 15-14 points) arriving at the Emergency Department of a Level I University Hospital Trauma Center during 1998. Acute intracranial injuries were defined as traumatic brain injuries identified by cranial computed tomography scan, excluding pneumocephalus. Compared with the children, this risk of intracranial injury was 13 times greater in the adults aged 14-54 years and 16 times greater in the over-54-year-olds. Besides age over 14 years (p<0.0001), compound skull fracture (p<0.001), and a GCS score of 14 (p<0.001) were factors significantly associated with intracranial injury in the logistic regression analysis. Skull fracture in mild head injury implies a greater risk of intracranial injury in adults than in children.
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ISSN:0256-7040
1433-0350
DOI:10.1007/s00381-004-1036-x