Head Injuries in Infants and Children

  • Kenneth Shulman
Chapter

Abstract

The mortality and serious morbidity of head injuries in infants and children warrant separate consideration within a text on cranial and spinal injuries. Accidents kill more children than the three most common diseases of childhood combined, and one-fourth of these violent accidental deaths are the result of head injuries. Despite the fact that child care has resulted in a decrease in other major childhood illnesses, head injuries are increasing in both frequency and seriousness, partly as a result of increased automotive accidents and partly — in major urban areas — as the result of falls from newly constructed high-rise apartment buildings. It is estimated that 200,000 children per year are hospitalized because of such injuries; 3,000 die, and up to 20,000 have prolonged or permanent impairment of neurological or mental function (U.S.P.H.S., 1963). Effective accident prevention measures are the ultimate solution and should be the concern of parents, educators, manufacturers, and governmental authorities. The medical aspects of pediatric head injuries are of interest not only because of their complexity but also because of the effects of injury upon the growing brain — with its vulnerability on the one hand and its plasticity on the other — as compared with similar injuries in adults. Finally, there are a number of conditions that are unique in children as, for example, chronic subdural hematoma, the growing skull fracture, and birth injury.

Keywords

Head Injury Subdural Hematoma Skull Fracture Twist Drill Facial Paralysis 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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© Springer Science+Business Media New York 1974

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  • Kenneth Shulman

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