State of the Science: Skull Fracture and Intracranial Injury in Children Below Age 2

A gap exists in the literature regarding the best practice for ED triage assessment in children below age 2 who have sustained suspected minor head injuries. Head injuries are a frequent reason for children ’s ED visits,1,2 and children below age 2 account for approximately 25% of these visits.3 Although most children who present to emergency departments for evaluation of head injuries have not sustained underlying skull fractures or intracranial injury (closed head injury [CHI]), identifying those w ho may have sustained CHIs is important because secondary injuries (eg, increased bleeding or swelling of the brain) are more likely to occur when primary injuries are not identified.
Source: Journal of Emergency Nursing: JEN - Category: Nursing Authors: Tags: Clinical Source Type: research