imaging of the traumatic brain injury by rathachai kaewlai, md
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Imaging of Traumatic Brain Injury
Rathachai Kaewlai, MD Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok Emergency Radiology Minicourse 2013 Slides available at RiTradiology.com or Slideshare.net/rathachai
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Disclaimer All opinions expressed here are those of the authors and not of their
employers. Information provided here is for medical education only. It is not intended as
and does not substitute for medical advice. If you are a patient, please see your doctor for evaluation of your individual case. Under no circumstances will the authors be liable to you for any direct or indirect damages arising in connecting with the use of this website.
The presentation may contain links to third party web sites. This does not constitute endorsement, guarantee, warrantee or recommendation by the authors. We do not verify, endorse, or take responsibility for the accuracy, currency, completeness or quality of the content contained in these sites.
There is no real life patient data on this presentation. We do not write about patients. All case descriptions are fictional, similar to descriptions you can find in a multiple choice questions textbook for examination preparation.
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Outline • Background of traumatic
brain injury (TBI) • Imaging modalities
– CT – X-ray – MRI
• Clinical prediction rules
• Primary lesions – Intraaxial hemorrhages – Extraaxial hemorrhages
• Secondary lesions
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Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
• Leading cause of death and disability • Major risk factors: extreme age, male,
low socioeconomic status • Mortality related to Glasgow Coma Scale
(GCS) score
Head injury classified by GCS 13-15 = mild HI 8-12 = moderate HI 7 or less = severe HI
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Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
• Closed or open? It depends on dura integrity
Closed Open More common Less common
Dura intact Dura disrupted
Violent accelerations of brain tissue (coup-contrecoup)
Fracture or FB penetrating dura
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Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
• Primary or secondary brain lesions? It’s “how” closely lesions are linked to traumatic event
Primary Secondary Caused by trauma itself Processes arising from 1) brain’s
responses to trauma 2) compression of brain, CN, BV, skull and dura
Less devastating More devastating Skull fractures, extraaxial hemorrhages, intraaxial lesions (DAI, contusion, IVH)
Herniations, diffuse edema, infarction and infarction
DAI = Diffuse axonal injury, IVH = intraventricular hemorrhage, CN = cranial nerves, BV = blood vessels
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Goals of Imaging in TBI Goals Answered by... Rapid diagnosis of life-threatening injuries
Explanation of neurological abnormality
Prognosis information
CT
CT (if not MRI)
Clinical findings, CT, MRI, advanced MR techniques
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CT in TBI: Why?
• Widely available • Fast • Sensitive for detection and evaluation of
injuries requiring acute neurosurgical intervention
Deciding whether surgical or medical Rx
Image from salvationist.ca
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CT in TBI: When?
• Moderate & severe acute closed HI • Minor acute closed head injury with…
– Risk factors* or – Neurological deficit present
• Children <2 years old • Penetrating injury • Skull fracture • R/O carotid or vertebral artery injury
HI = head injury
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CT in TBI: When?
• Patients with mild HI with one of 7 clinical findings need CT: – Short-term memory deficit – Drug/alcohol intoxication – Physical evidence of trauma
above clavicles – Age > 60 – Seizure – Headache – Vomiting
NEJM 2000
New Orleans Criteria Using this scheme, CT
positivity rate was about 7-10%
Sensitivity = 100%
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CT in TBI
• Sensitivity for predicting need for neurosurgery – High risk 100% – Medium risk 98.4%
• Reduced the need for CT in mild HI to 54%
• Positivity rate = 8% (1% of cases require neurosurgical intervention)
Stiell IG, et al. Lancet 2001;357:1391-96. | Diagram from ohri.ca
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CT in TBI: How? • Non-contrast, axial scan with spiral technique • At our hospital, we use 3 mm slice thickness and
alway do bone algorithm, coronal/sagittal reformations
• If you see maxillary hemosinus do facial CT • If you see skull base fracture consider CTA
and skull base reformation (thin slices with small FOV)
• If suspect C-spine fracture do C-spine CT
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CT in TBI: Checklist
• Look at all three windows
Brain Subdural Bone
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CT in TBI: Checklist • Look for primary lesions • Don’t forget secondary lesions (they may
be more catastrophic) • If the study looks near-normal
– Find coup injury look for contrecoup (can be subtle)
– Check potential areas for contusions and DAI (esp if low GCS)
• Recheck interpeduncular fossa for small SAH
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Skull X-ray: Outdated Yet? • No! • Penetrating injury • Radiopaque foreign bodies e.g. GSW • Part of skeletal survey in cases suspecting
child abuse • Caveats: Skull fractures...
– About 1/3 of cases with severe TBI do not have skull fracture!
– Negative skull x-ray does not mean no CT
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Skull X-ray: How? • Skull trauma series in adults should
include at least 3 views given complex skull bones – Frontal – Lateral – Towne’s
• Learn to find fractures and distinguish them from mimics
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MRI in TBI: Pros
• More sensitive for 10 and 20 injuries than CT • Better differentiation of hemorrhagic and
non-hemorrhagic lesions in acute phase
Same-day MRI
Diffuse axonal injury
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MRI in TBI: Cons
• Intrinsic limits: – Absolute C/I: cardiac pacemaker, ferromagnetic foreign
bodies – Lower sensitivity for bone fractures and hyperacute blood
• Difficult managing trauma patients in MRI suite: metallic life support, monitoring device, time
T1 T2 FLAIR CT Images from Scarabino, et al. Emergency Neuroradiology, 2006
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SKULL FRACTURE
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Quick Anatomy
• 3 layers – Outer table – Diploe – Inner table
• Parts without diploe prone to fracture – Squamous temporal bone / Parietal bone – Foramen magnum, skull bases, cribiform plates,
orbital roofs
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Quick Anatomy
(c) 2003 Encyclopedia Brittanica
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Quick Anatomy
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Types of Skull Fracture • Linear fracture
– a/w EDH, SDH • Depressed fracture
– a/w focal parenchymal lesions
• Skull base fracture • Open head injuries
– Knife, firearm – Laceration of dura www.uchospitals.edu
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Significance of Skull Fracture • Indicator of brain injuries?...Not quite
– Present in the majority of cases with severe HI
– Absent in 1/4 of fatal injuries at autopsy – Absent in 1/3 of severe brain injury cases
• Injuries to underlying brain structures • Association
– 15% concomitant C-spine injury – 10-15% concomitant facial injury
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Skull Fracture: Imaging
• Best = Helical CT scan with multiplanar reformation (MPR)
In-plane fracture easier to see on reformats
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Skull Fracture: Imaging • Bone window with edge enhancement algorithm
Soft tissue algorithm Bone algorithm
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Skull Fracture: Difficulty on XR
Window level adjusted Routine window
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Skull Fracture vs. Suture FRACTURE SUTURE Smooth or jagged edge Serrated edge Straight line Curvilinear line Angular turn Curvilinear turn Greater in width Lesser in width (X-ray) darker (X-ray) lighter Any locations Specific anatomic location
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Skull Fracture: Difficulty on CT
Use subgaleal hematoma as a clue
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Skull Fracture: Diastatic
• Fracture along suture lines “traumatic sutural separation” • Usually affected newborns and infants (unfused sutures) • Commonly unilateral • Most common location = lambdoid and sagittal sutures • >2 mm separation that is asymmetric
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Skull Fracture: Depressed • In adults, criteria to elevate:
– >8-10 mm depression or >1 thickness of skull
– Deficit related to underlying brain – CSF leak
• In children, two types: – Simple depressed: usually
remodelling occurs with growth, surgery if dura penetrated or persistent cosmetic defect
– Ping-pong ball fractures: Rx if underlying brain injury or dura penetrated
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Skull Fracture: Skull Base • Most are extensions of
fracture of cranial vault • Clinical clues:
– CSF otorrhea or rhinorrhea – Hemotympanum or laceration of
EAC – Postauricular ecchymoses – Periorbital ecchymoses in
absence of direct orbital trauma esp if bilateral
– Cranial nerve injury (I, VI, VII, VIII)
Longitudinal
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Skull Fracture: Skull Base • Thin slices, bone
algorithms and coronal images needed for Dx
• Indirect CT signs: – Pneumocephalus – Air-fluid level or
opacification of mastoid or sinuses
Longitudinal Oblique
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Skull Fracture: Missile Injuries Depressed Penetrating Perforating Missile not penetrate skull but produces depressed fx or brain contusion
Missile enters cranial cavity but does not leave it
Missile enters and exits cranial cavity
Focal brain damage
Injury depends on damage to vital structures
Most severe injury due to shockwaves generated by missiles
Foreign body, meningitis, abscesses
Foreign body, meningitis, abscesses
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Skull Fracture: Pneumocephalus • Gas within cranial cavity • In acute trauma setting, this is
commonly due to fractures of PNS and temporal bones (open skull fracture is another cause)
• Most do not cause immediate danger but rapid expansion can lead to brain compression (tension pneumocephalus)
– Mount Fuji sign
• Usually decreases by 10-15 days and almost never present by 3 weeks
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DIFFUSE AXONAL INJURY
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Diffuse Axonal Injury (DAI)
• Traumatic acceleration/deceleration or violent rotation
• LOC immediately at the time of trauma coma • Most severe of all primary brain lesions
Images from http://www.pathguy.com/bryanlee/dai.htm
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Diffuse Axonal Injury (DAI)
• Frequent cause of persistent vegetative state / morbidity in trauma patients
• Clinical symptoms worse than CT findings
• Can be isolated with no or little association with SAH, SDH, fracture
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Diffuse Axonal Injury
• Non-hemorrhagic 80% of cases • Common locations:
– Grey-white matter interface (m/c) – Corpus callosum – Dorsolateral midbrain
• Number and location of lesions predict prognosis (worse if multiple & supratentorial)
• MRI most sensitive imaging but still underestimates real extent
Susceptibility-weighted MRI
CT
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Diffuse Axonal Injury
• When initial head CT is normal but the patient is in vegetative state – Do MRI with susceptibility sequence OR – Follow up CT in 24 hours (1/6 of DAI will
evolve)
Small interpeduncular SAH and petechial hemorrhage in dorsolateral midbrain on CT and susceptibility-weighted MRI
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CEREBRAL CONTUSION
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Cerebral Contusion
• Cerebral gyri impact inner table skull • Characterizes coup and contrecoup
injuries • Petechial hemorrhage of gyri small
hemorrhage large hematoma
Images from Wikipedia.org
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Cerebral Contusion
• Anterior base frontal, temporal lobes (esp tip), cortex surrounding Sylvian fissure
• Multiple, bilateral
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Cerebral Contusion
• Can be normal early; can be non-hemorrhagic • Imaging worsened with time, most evident after 24 h
Day 0 Day 1
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Cerebral Contusion: MRI
FLAIR T2W
MRI is the study of choice in patients with • Acute TBI when neurological findins are unexplained by CT • Subacute or chronic phases when there are TBI-related symptoms
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OTHER INTRAAXIAL LESIONS
Traumatic intraparenchymal hematoma Intraventricular hemorrhage Traumatic lesions of deep grey structures and brainstem
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Intraparenchymal Hematoma • Parenchymal vessel
rupture from blunt or penetrating forces
• May not lose consciousness (unlike DAI, contusion)
• Hematoma at primary trauma site (usually frontal and temporal)
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Intraparenchymal Hematoma
• Well-circumscribed hyperdense lesion w/wo perilesional edema
• Up to 60% a/w SDH, EDH • Not always easy to
distinguish IPH from DAI or contusion
Traumatic intraparenchymal hemorrhage with IVH
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Intraventricular Hemorrhage
• Uncommon • Consequence of severe trauma. a/w DAI and
trauma of deep grey and brainstem • Poor prognosis
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Trauma of Deep Grey & Brainstem • Stretch and torsion causing ruptured perforators,
or direct impact on dorsolateral brainstem against tentorial incisura
• Severe trauma, poor prognosis • CT:
– Small hemorrhages in brainstem surrounding aqueduct, basal grey nuclei
– Can be normal
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EPIDURAL HEMATOMA
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Epidural Hematoma (EDH)
• Hematoma between inner table of the skull and dura
• Source of bleeding – Most common = middle
meningeal artery (90%) (squamous temporal bone)
– Venous EDH from dural venous sinus
www.practicalhospital.com
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Epidural Hematoma (EDH) • Most urgent of all cases of cranial trauma
– Requiring prompt Rx to relieve compression of brainstem, tentorial herniation, acute hydrocephalus
– EDH in posterior fossa very worrisome
• 1-4% of head injury cases, 10% of fatal cases • Young men (20s – 40s). Rare in patients >60 y • Almost always with skull fracture • Lucid interval in 40% of cases
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Epidural Hematoma (EDH)
• Delayed development in 10-25% of cases (within 36 hrs) – Arterial EDH: blood can flow into epidural
space only after resolution of arterial spasm – Venous EDH bleeds slowly
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Epidural Hematoma: CT Appearance • Biconvex or lens shape
hyperdense lesion (rare to be isodense)
• May cross midline and dural attachment
• Do not cross suture (except diastatic fracture, large EDH)
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Epidural Hematoma: Potential Indications for Surgery • Size > 2 cm • Active bleeding • Impending herniation • Corresponding
neurologic deficit
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Epidural Hematoma: Swirl Sign
• First described by Zimmerman in 1982
• Small rounded lesion isodense to the brain, representing active extravasation of unclotted blood
• Clotted component is hyperdense (50-70 HU)
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Venous EDH • Tear of venous sinus
(high flow, low pressure system)
• More benign course, subacute presentation, usually not require surgery
• Posterior fossa venous sinus > sagittal sinus
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SUBDURAL HEMATOMA
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Subdural Hematoma (SDH)
• Blood collects between dura and arachnoid
• Torn cortical bridging veins • 10-20% of all cranial
trauma cases • Demographics:
– Elderly (60-80y) with brain atrophy,
– Large intracranial subarachnoid spaces
– “Shaken baby syndrome”
www.nucleusinc.com
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Subdural Hematoma (SDH)
• Usually co-exist with other brain injuries – Esp. contusion-typed
injuries > skull fractures • Acute: within 3 days
from trauma • Subacute: within 3 mo • Chronic: after 3 months
Layer of acute blood on pre-existing CSF-like subdural collection in the right cerebral convexity
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Subdural Hematoma: CT Appearance • Crescentic hyperdense
collection • Can cross suture • Can extend to
interhemispheric fissure, along tentorium cerebelli
Note coup (Rt.) and contrecoup (Lt.) pattern. This SDH is a contrecoup injury.
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Subdural Hematoma: Value of Coronal Reformats
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Bilateral Subdural Hematomas
Don’t feel “enough” with trauma findings. There’re almost always more to be discovered.
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“Isodense” Subdural Hematoma
• Usually takes 2-6 weeks for acute SDH to become isodense
• At Hb 8-10 g/dL, blood will be isodense to grey matter
• Anemic patients can present with acute isodense SDH
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Acute On Chronic SDH
• New hemorrhage superimposed on chronic SDH
• Recurrent trauma • Can be spontaneous • Blood-fluid level , blood
clot organization, membranes
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Comparison of EDH and SDH
EDH SDH Incidence 1-4% of trauma cases;
10% of fatal trauma cases 10-20% of all trauma cases; 30% of fatal trauma cases
Etiology a/w fractures in 90% of cases Laceration of MMA/venous sinus
Tearing of cortical veins
Site Between skull and dura 95% supratentorial
Between dura and arachnoid 95% supratentorial
Crosses dura but not sutures Crosses suture but not dura CT findings Biconvex (lens) shape
Shift grey-white matter interface Crescentic shape
Diagram from Kumar et al. Basic Pathology 7E
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Subdural Hygroma
• Extraaxial collection of CSF caused by extravasation of CSF from SA space through a traumatic tear in arachnoid mater
• Acute: Children >> adults • Subacute and chronic:
Following surgery for head injuries in operative bed or opposite site
1 week after injury
Day of injury
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TRAUMATIC SUBARACHNOID HEMORRHAGE (TSAH)
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Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (SAH) • Blood collects beneath
arachnoid • Tear of veins in SA space • Usually associated with
other brain injuries (common with contusions)
• ‘Nearly all cases of traumatic SAH have other lesions to suggest traumatic cause’ – Isolated SAH in trauma
patients – possible ruptured aneurysm causing trauma
SAH with SDH
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Subarachnoid Hemorrhage • Site
– Next to brain contusion, under SDH/fracture/scalp lac
– Can be distant because blood diffuses in SA space
• IVH may co-exist due to retrograde flow through foramen of Luschka and Magendie
SAH with contusion
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Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
• Subtle SAH – interpeduncular fossa
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TRAUMATIC VASCULAR LESIONS
ICA dissection Carotid-cavernous fistula (CCF)
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Traumatic Vascular Lesions
• Rare • Can be overlooked initially • ICA injury (dissection, aneurysm, occlusion)
– Base of skull fracture
• Traumatic carotid-cavernous fistula (TCCF)
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Traumatic ICA Injury • Common cause of
ischemic stroke in the young
• Extracranial ICA much more common (esp just proximal to petrous bone)
• Dissection occlusion or thromboembolism
At initial trauma, there were diffuse subarachnoid hemorrhage, pneumocephalus, facial fractures and C-spine injury. Days after the injury (image C) , the patient developed left ICA territory
infarction. Angiiography (D) confirmed occlusion of the cervical ICA. Images from Yang S, et al. J Clin Neurosci 2006;13:123
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Traumatic CCF
• Most common traumatic AV fistula = CCF – Clues on CT: proptosis, bulging cavernous sinus, enlarged-
arterialized ophthalmic vein
A vividly enhancing structure in the right cavernous sinus with a dilated superior ophthalmic vein. Note right proptosis
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SECONDARY LESIONS
Herniation Cerebral edema Ischemia and infarction Secondary hemorrhage Hydrocephalus Brain death
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Herniation
• Supra- and infratentorial cranial compartments by dura and bones
• Expanding lesion mechanical shift of cerebral parenchyma, CSF and attached BV from one compartment to another Wikipedia.org
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Herniation Herniation Clinical Findings Imaging Findings Where to
Look? Complications
Descending transtentorial
• Ipsilated dilated pupil • Contralateral hemiparesis • Ipsilateral hemiparesis (if Kernohan notch is present)
• Uncus extending into suprasellar cistern • Widening of ipsilateral ambient and prepontine cisterns • Widening of contralateral temporal horn
Midbrain Occipital infarct from PCA compression
Ascending transtentorial
• Nausea • Vomitting • Obtundation
• Spinning top appearance of midbrain • Narrow bilateral ambient cisterns • Filling of quadrigeminal plate cistern
Midbrain and associated cisterns
Hydrocephalus Rapid onset obtundation and possible death
Alar (sphenoid)
• None • Displacement of MCA on axial views • Distorted insular cortex on sagittal views
MCA None
Subfalcine • Headache • Contralateral leg weakness
• Asymmetric anterior falx • Obliterated ipsilateral frontal horn and atrium of lateral ventricle • Septum pellucidum shift
Septum pellucidum at level of foramen of Monro
Ipsilateral ACA infarction
Tonsillar • Bilateral arm dysesthesia • Obtundation
• Tonsils at level of dens on axial • Tonsils on sagittal 5mm below foramen magnum (adult); 7mm below (children)
Foramen magnum on axials and sagittals
Obtundation Death
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Herniation: Tonsillar
• Downward displacement of tonsils through foramen magnum
• Seen with – Up to ½ of all descending transtentorial herniation – Up to 2/3 of ascending transtentorial herniation
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Herniation: Subfalcine and Midline Shift • Shift of cingulate gyrus across midline below falx • Thinner ipsilateral ventricle, dilated opposite
ventricle (CSF obstruction at foramen of Monro)
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Herniation: Subfalcine and Midline Shift • Measured at level of foramen of Monro • Distal ACA may be compressed against falx
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Herniation: Descending Transtentorial • Medial and caudal shift
of uncus and parahippocampal gyrus of temporal lobe beyond tentorium cerebelli
• Asymmetric prepontine cisterns and CP angle (wider on side of lesion)
• AchA, PCoA, PCA may be compressed against tentorium
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Herniation: Descending Transtentorial
Before surgery After surgery
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Herniation: Ascending Transtentorial • Cranial shift of vermis and
parts of superomedial cerebellar hemisphere through tentorium incisura
• Compressed superior cerebellar, vermian cisterns and forth ventricle
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Posttraumatic Cerebral Edema
• Increased water content of brain and/or increased intravascular blood volume
• Severe condition. Can be fatal • Can be unilateral or bilateral • Vasogenic and cytotoxic edema coexist
(vasogenic immediately, then cytotoxic) • Evolves over 24-48 hours • Generally resolved in 2 weeks
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Posttraumatic Cerebral Edema
• Generalized obliteration of cortical sulci and SA spaces of suprasellar, perimesencephalic and compressed/thin ventricles
• Diffuse hypodensity, loss of grey-white matter interface
• Hyperdense cerebellum • Often w/ transtentorial
herniation
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Posttraumatic Ischemia/Infarct
• m/c cause = herniation • m/c location = occipital
(PCA infarct from descending transten)
• 2nd m/c location = frontal (ACA infarct from subfalcine h)
• Rare = basal ganglia (perforator/choroidal infarct against base skull)
3 months later
At time of trauma
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Posttraumatic Secondary Hemorrhages • Small hemorrhagic foci in
tegmen = Duret hemorrhage – Classic in midline of
pontomesencephalic junction – May be multiple or extending
into cerebellar peduncles • Necrosis/hemorrhage of
contralateral cerebral peduncle = Kernohan’s notch “false localizing sign”
Hemorrhage in the midline near pontomesencephalic junction. Also note
intraventricular hemorrhage in the 4th ventricle
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Hydrocephalus • Acute hydrocephalus can
occur 2/2 brain herniation or IVH
• Delayed hydrocephalus usually 2/2 adherence of meninges over cerebral convexity, basal cisterns or aqueduct resulting in obstruction at level of ventricles and arachnoid granulations
Look for “early sign” of hydrocephalus at temporal horns of lateral ventricles. When acute with high ICP, there may be hypodensity around the frontal horns of lateral ventricles
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Brain Death • Severe increased ICP
decreases cerebral blood flow, then irreversible loss of brain function
• Clinical criteria: coma + absent brainstem reflexes + apnea test
• No flow in intracranial arteries/venous sinuses
• Diffuse cerebral edema, hyperdense cerebellum
Pseudo-SAH with non-visualization of contrast enhancement of intracranial vessels. Only external carotid arterial branches are enhanced
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Conclusions
• CT = primary modality for head trauma, enough for most parts – Skull x-rays still used in penetrating trauma,
suspected child abuse – MR to help predicting prognosis by detection
of subtle injuries i.e., contusion and DAI • Primary vs secondary lesion. Often,
secondary lesion more important
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Conclusions
• While checking the scan, make sure to think if the patient needs CTA or other CTs (C-spine, facial bones, etc)
• Coup-contrecoup mechanism helps confirm acute trauma nature and search for subtle lesions