PEDIATRIC HEAD TRAUMA

Course overview

TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY (TBI) REPRESENTS ONE OF THE LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH AND DISABILITY IN CHILDREN BETWEEN 1 AND 18 YEARS OF AGE. TBI IS TYPICALLY CLASSIFIED AS MILD, MODERATE, OR SEVERE BASED ON THE GLASGOW COMA SCALE (GCS). THE CONDITION IS A DISRUPTION IN THE NORMAL FUNCTION OF THE BRAIN CAUSED BY A MECHANICAL IMPACT ON THE HEAD. TBI RANGES FROM MILD TO SEVERE AND/OR FATAL. TBI CAN BE CONCEPTUALIZED AS A PRIMARY INJURY OCCURRING AT THE MOMENT OF IMPACT, FOLLOWED BY A SECONDARY INJURY WHICH CAN BE DUE TO A COMBINATION OF SEQUELAE, INCLUDING INTRACRANIAL HEMATOMAS, ISCHEMIA (OFTEN DUE TO ELEVATED INTRACRANIAL PRESSURE), EDEMA, VASOSPASM, AND HYPOXEMIA. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE EPIDEMIOLOGY, ETIOLOGY, AND PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF PEDIATRIC HEAD TRAUMA, OUTLINES THE EVALUATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THIS PATIENT POPULATION AND EMPHASIZES THE IMPORTANCE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN ITS MANAGEMENT.