Syed Shariq Ullah, Lha Yaseen M Talha, Muhammad Ayub Mansoor.
Patterns of diffuse axonal injury in traumatic head injury patients - a CT scan based study from Liaquat National hospital, Karachi.
Pak J Radiol Jan ;27(4):338-46.

Objective: The aim of this study was to record the incidence of patterns of diffuse axonal injury in traumatic head injury patients, that presented to a tertiary care hospital over a period of 06 months. Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional study was performed on data collected from computerized records and CT scan images of cases of traumatic head injury patients. The data was collected over a period of 06 months; from 01 st July 2016 to 31 st December 2016. The study center was the Department of Radiology, at Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi. Results: A total of 123 patients presented to Liaquat National Hospital, Department of Radiology with the history of traumatic head injury over a period of 06 months. Only 23 out of these 123 patients (18.6%) who were clinically suspected of having diffuse axonal injury showed its different patterns confirmed on CT scan. 18 patients (78.2%) had contusions at gray white matter interface, 07 patients (30.4%) had contusions in corpus callosum, 04 patients (17.3%) had contusions in brain stem, 14 patients (60.8%) had contusions in cerebellum, 15 patients (65.2%) had skull fractures, 05 patients (21.7%) had intraventricular bleed while only 02 patients (8.6%) had global cerebral ischemia. The rest of 100 patients showed skull fractures, intra and extra axial bleeds with parenchymal contusions. Conclusion: The incidence of diffuse axonal injury is rare and is very low, but not uncommon in patients of traumatic head injury and cannot be disregarded. Timely diagnosis and management will be useful to lower morbidity and mortality. KEYWORDS: Diffuse axonal injury, CT scan

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