The Frequency of Brain Ct-Scan Findings in Patients With Scalp Lacerations Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury; A Cross- Sectional Study

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.