User:Mr. Ibrahem/Basilar skull fracture
| Basilar skull fracture | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Basal skull fracture, skull base fractures[1] |
 | |
| A subtle temporal bone fracture as seen on CT in a person with a severe head injury | |
| Specialty | Emergency medicine, neurosurgery |
| Symptoms | Bruising behind the ears, bruising around the eyes, blood behind the ear drum[1] |
| Complications | Cerebrospinal fluid leak, facial fracture, meningitis[2][1] |
| Types | Anterior, central, posterior[1] |
| Causes | Trauma[1] |
| Diagnostic method | CT scan[1] |
| Treatment | Based on injuries inside the skull[1] |
| Frequency | ≈12% of severe head injuries[1] |
A basilar skull fracture is a break of a bone in the base of the skull.[1] Symptoms may include bruising behind the ears, bruising around the eyes, or blood behind the ear drum.[1] A cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak occurs in about 20% of cases and can result in fluid leaking from the nose or ear.[1] Meningitis is a complication in about 14% of cases.[2] Other complications include cranial nerve or blood vessel injury.[1]
They typically require a significant degree of trauma to occur.[1] The break is of at least one of the following bones: temporal bone, occipital bone, sphenoid bone, frontal bone, or ethmoid bone.[1] They are divided into anterior fossa, middle fossa, and posterior fossa fractures.[1] Facial fractures often also occur.[1] Diagnosis is typically by CT scan.[1]
Treatment is generally based on the injury to structures inside the head.[1] Surgery may be done for a CSF leak that does not stop or an injury to a blood vessel or nerve.[1] Preventive antibiotics are of unclear use.[3][2] It occurs in about 12% of people with a severe head injury.[1]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Baugnon, KL; Hudgins, PA (August 2014). "Skull base fractures and their complications". Neuroimaging Clinics of North America. 24 (3): 439–65, vii–viii. doi:10.1016/j.nic.2014.03.001. PMID 25086806.
- ^ a b c Nellis, JC; Kesser, BW; Park, SS (January 2014). "What is the efficacy of prophylactic antibiotics in basilar skull fractures?". The Laryngoscope. 124 (1): 8–9. doi:10.1002/lary.23934. PMID 24122671.
- ^ Ratilal, Bernardo O; Costa, João; Pappamikail, Lia; Sampaio, Cristina; Ratilal, Bernardo O (2015). "Antibiotic prophylaxis for preventing meningitis in patients with basilar skull fractures". The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 4 (4): CD004884. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD004884.pub4. PMID 25918919.