UMEM Educational Pearls

Title: What's the diagnosis? Image submitted by Dr. Michael Abraham

Posted: 1/9/2012 by Haney Mallemat, MD (Updated: 8/28/2014)
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Question

23 year-old male fell off porch while intoxicated. The head CT is shown below. Diagnosis?

Answer

Answer: Frontal sinus fracture (inner and outer table) with pneumocephalus.

A few quick pearls when managing skull fractures:

Medical management:

Little evidence for prophylactic antibiotics; even with a laceration over fracture (i.e., an open fracture)
Little evidence for prophylactic anti-convulsants

Surgical management, if:

Skull depression >5mm relative to adjacent segment(s)
Dural tear; suggested by CSF or pneumocephalus
Debridement and washout for suspected or confirmed wound contamination

References

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