OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of the brain CT-scan findings in patients with mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) and scalp lacerations.
METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted during a 1-year period from March 2016 to March 2017 in Level I trauma center in Shiraz, Southern Iran. We included all the adult patients (≥18 years) admitted to our emergency room with mild TBI (GCS on admission of 15) and scalp lacerations. All the patients underwent Brain CT-Scan and the scans were reviewed by two radiologists who were unaware of the patients' clinical findings. The results are reported as proportions and frequencies.
RESULTS: Overall we included a total number of 94 patients with minimal TBI who had a scalp laceration on admission. The mean age of the patients was 30.78 ± 8.01 (ranging from 18 to 47) years. There were 58 (61.7%) men and 36 (38.3%) women among the patients. The most common finding of the Brain CT-Scan was subgaleal hematoma in 76 (80.9%) patients followed by base skull base fracture in 7 (7.4%), linear skull fracture in 7 (7.4%), brain contusion in 3 (3.2%) and subdural hematoma in 1 (1.1%).
CONCLUSION: The results of the current study indicate that scalp lacerations are associated with intracranial injuries in about 20% of the patients with mild TBI. Thus brain CT-scan is recommended in all the patients with mild TBI and scalp lacerations.