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Imaging the Brain-Injured Patient

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Book cover Neurocritical Care

Part of the book series: Competency-Based Critical Care ((CBCC))

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Key Points

  1. 1.

    NICE guidelines are available in the United Kingdom to decide which patients should have a CT brain scan after head injury.

  2. 2.

    CT is not always a good predictor of functional outcome. MRI may have better prognostic value.

  3. 3.

    Early CT may underestimate the actual size of a brain parenchymal lesion.

  4. 4.

    Diffuse axonal injury (DAI) should always be suspected in the presence of intraventricular hemorrhage or small intraparenchymal hemorrhages in key areas such as the cerebral hemispheres, corpus callosum, brainstem, and areas adjacent to the third ventricle. Nearly 80% of DAI lesions are microscopic and not visible on any imaging modality.

  5. 5.

    MRI has a limited role in the acute situation.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroradiology, Leeds General Infirmary Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS1 3EX, UK

    Tony Goddard & Kshitij Mankad

Authors
  1. Tony Goddard
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  2. Kshitij Mankad
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The General Infirmary at Leeds, Great George Street, Leeds, LS1 3EX, United Kingdom

    John P. Adams

  2. Dept. Anaesthesia, Leeds General Infirmary, Great George Street, Leeds, LS1 3EX, United Kingdom

    Dominic Bell

  3. Leeds General Infirmary, Gt. George Street, Leeds, LS1 3EX, United Kingdom

    Justin McKinlay

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Goddard, T., Mankad, K. (2010). Imaging the Brain-Injured Patient. In: Adams, J., Bell, D., McKinlay, J. (eds) Neurocritical Care. Competency-Based Critical Care. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84882-070-8_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84882-070-8_14

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-84882-069-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-84882-070-8

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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