[Head injuries with delayed intracranial hemorrhage]

Abstract

Nine cases of delayed intracranial haematomas were found among 300 patients with head injuries during a two-year period. Six of the nine patients developed delayed traumatic intracerebral haematoma, two epidural haematoma and one subdural haematoma. Delayed intracerebral haematoma was diagnosed from 12 hours to six days after the trauma. The primary CT showed brain contusion in the majority of the patients. The outcome was poor. One patient died and two were severely disabled. The clinical course was more rapid in the two patients with epidural haematoma than in the others. Marked elevation of intracranial pressure was monitored in both cases prior to the second CT examination. In spite of successful evacuation of the haematoma, one patient died and the other developed physical and mental retardation. In one patient a subdural haematoma was diagnosed three months after the trauma. The patient did well postoperatively.