STROKE AND NEUROLOGICAL EVENTS

                                        

                           Epidural vs. subdural bleed

Scenario 1: Tim was on a ladder at work.
He lost his balance and fell to the ground.

He will later be diagnosed with an epidural bleed. 

Scenario 2 :Mrs. A has a history of alcohol
ingestion in excess. She has been falling
a lot. She is now unconscious.

An epidural bleed is an arterial bleed. The patient
has a brief period of unconsciousness following injury. 
He then becomes lucid and quickly progresses to 

unconsciousness and possible coma. 

A common site for injury is the meningeal artery which 

runs close to the surface, behind the ear.

A subdural bleed is venous and progresses slowly. 

The patient may not experience any symptoms for 

a few days. It may even become chronic. 

Suspect a subdural bleed , if the patient had a fall / head 

injury and was initially okay, then later becomes unconscious. 

It is common in alcoholics.

In the above image, examples of how brain injuries
can occur, are shown. Click on the links:
ICP monitoring

Stroke and ICP

for more information.

What does TBI mean ?

This means Traumatic Brain Injury. 
In the image below, a surfer hits his head on the pier.

He sustains a TBI and a Subarachnoid hemorrhage.

He was admitted to the ICU for treatment. An EVD was
placed by the doctor. Please click on the links for more
helpful information:

                                                    Medical abbreviations - Part 2

                                                       ICP for the layperson