Responding to Head Injuries

Part one of a three part series.

It seems that after the tragic deaths of both Natasha Richardson and Billy Mays, head injuries have been getting a lot of play time in the media. Richardson died of an epidural bleed after a helmetless fall on skis. Mays was found to have an enlarged heart, but the minor head injury he received the night before his death launched speculation that he had died from intracranial bleeding as well.

Both of these incidents bring to light an important element of head injury response and evaluation. Patients with critical, life threatening brain injuries don’t always present as sick. Often they report feeling just fine. The emergency responder needs to approach head injuries with a high index of suspicion.

Today were going to begin a three part series on head injuries. In part one we’ll take a look at the different ways the skull and brain get injured. In part two we’ll talk about how the brain bleeds and how that can change the patients presentation. In part three we’ll look at treatment considerations for the head injured patient.

Let’s do a quick review of what’s inside your head:

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