Brain Bleeding in Children is a Serious Problem
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In recent years, there has been a significant amount of focus on traumatic brain injuries, and the various brain bleeds, particularly in adults. However, these can also be serious problems for children. When children suffer some form of neurological damage, it can cause serious adverse effects because their brains are still developing.
Among the area of traumatic brain injuries, brain bleeds are among the most severe. There are many different ways that these catastrophic personal injuries can occur. For example, patients could suffer blunt trauma that leads to skull fractures and bleeding within the intracranial cavity. This could be due to a slip and fall injury or an auto accident. Other possible mechanisms include penetrating injuries, such as a physical assault. These injuries can slice through the skull and damage some of the arteries and veins in the brain, leading to bleeding in the intracranial cavity. If a patient starts bleeding in his or her brain, this can lead to a dramatic increase in the intracranial pressure. This pressure doesn't have any place to go because the skull cavity is a closed space. This means that the brain tissue is at risk of herniation, where brain tissue evacuates the skull cavity through one of the orifices. If this happens, this can lead to severe brain damage and, possibly, wrongful death.
Among the area of traumatic brain injuries, brain bleeds are among the most severe. There are many different ways that these catastrophic personal injuries can occur. For example, patients could suffer blunt trauma that leads to skull fractures and bleeding within the intracranial cavity. This could be due to a slip and fall injury or an auto accident. Other possible mechanisms include penetrating injuries, such as a physical assault. These injuries can slice through the skull and damage some of the arteries and veins in the brain, leading to bleeding in the intracranial cavity. If a patient starts bleeding in his or her brain, this can lead to a dramatic increase in the intracranial pressure. This pressure doesn't have any place to go because the skull cavity is a closed space. This means that the brain tissue is at risk of herniation, where brain tissue evacuates the skull cavity through one of the orifices. If this happens, this can lead to severe brain damage and, possibly, wrongful death.
Types of Brain Bleeds
There are many different types of brain bleeds that a patient could suffer from.
- Epidural Hematoma: One of the most common types is called an epidural hematoma. This happens when a strong external force makes contact with the temple of a patient. This could lead to damage to the middle meningeal artery. This fluid will start to leak out and will appear to have a lens-shaped pattern on a CT scan. Patients often do not exhibit any symptoms from this injury until they pass out, never to wake up again.
- Subdural Hematoma: Another type of brain bleed is called a subdural hematoma. If this injury happens acutely, it takes a tremendous amount of force. This is a rupture of the bridging veins and is often seen when someone is ejected through the windshield of a car, leading to a tremendous amount of external force when he or she strikes the pavement. This is typically a devastating injury with a particularly poor prognosis.
- Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: The third type of bleed is called a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Patients often present with this type of injury complaining of the "worst headache of their life," and will often describe it as a "thunderclap headache."
The Research Study
A team of medical professionals put together a research study that looked at some of the children in their hospital who had suffered brain bleeds. They wanted to evaluate the types of patients, the symptoms that they experienced, and the outcomes of the children in their hospital. Over a period of ten years, they went through over fifty patients and looked for trends. Most of the patients that they saw were male, with an average age of ten years old. Most patients stayed for about one week. The two most common mechanisms of injury leading to these brain bleeds in children were falls from a great height and accidents involving a bicycle. About forty percent of the patients suffering a brain bleed had presenting symptoms and about a third had skull fractures associated with those injuries. About ten percent of the patients had additional injuries. Almost three-quarters of the patients required a trip to neurosurgery to evacuate the bleeding in their brain.
Future Studies and Directions
Brain bleeds occurring in children is a devastating medical problem that nobody should ever have to deal with. When it does happen, it is important to know what to do. Future studies should take a look at the different treatment options and evaluate what types of treatments result in the most positive outcomes.