Head injury triage, assessment, investigation, and early management of head injury in children, young people, and adults
Further key NHS changes have driven the scope of this update. These include the introduction in 2012 of regional trauma networks with major trauma triage tools within NHS England; the extension of indications for anticoagulation therapy; the expanding use of biomarkers to guide emergent clinical man...
| Corporate Authors: | , |
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| Format: | eBook |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
London
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
2014, [2014]
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| Series: | NICE clinical guidelines
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | |
| Collection: | National Center for Biotechnology Information - Collection details see MPG.ReNa |
| Summary: | Further key NHS changes have driven the scope of this update. These include the introduction in 2012 of regional trauma networks with major trauma triage tools within NHS England; the extension of indications for anticoagulation therapy; the expanding use of biomarkers to guide emergent clinical management in other conditions, such as chest pain; and the establishment of local safeguarding boards. The last of these addresses the requirement for front-line clinical staff to assess not only the severity of the head injury but also why it occurred The previous head injury guideline produced by NICE in 2003 (NICE clinical guideline 4) and updated in 2007 (NICE clinical guideline 56) resulted in CT scanning replacing skull radiography as the primary imaging modality for assessing head injury. It also led to an increase in the proportion of people with severe head injury having their care managed in specialist centres. This has been associated with a decline in fatality among patients with severe head injury. This update is needed because of the continuing importance of up-to-date evidence-based guidance on the initial assessment and early management of head injury. Appropriate guidance can enable early detection and treatment of life-threatening brain injury, where present, but also early discharge of patients with negligible risk of brain injury. It can therefore save lives while at the same time preventing needless crowding in emergency departments and observation wards. For the purposes of this guideline, head injury is defined as any trauma to the head other than superficial injuries to the face. Head injury is the commonest cause of death and disability in people aged 1-40 years in the UK. Data for head injury are recorded in the Hospital Episode Statistics (http://www.hscic.gov.uk/hes). Each year, 1.4 million people attend emergency departments in England and Wales with a recent head injury. Between 33% and 50% of these are children aged under 15 years. Annually, about 200,000 people are admitted to hospital with head injury. Of these, one-fifth have features suggesting skull fracture or have evidence of brain damage. Most patients recover without specific or specialist intervention, but others experience long-term disability or even die from the effects of complications that could potentially be minimised or avoided with early detection and appropriate treatment. The incidence of death from head injury is low, with as few as 0.2% of all patients attending emergency departments with a head injury dying as a result of this injury. Ninety five per cent of people who have sustained a head injury present with a normal or minimally impaired conscious level (Glasgow Coma Scale [GCS] greater than 12) but the majority of fatal outcomes are in the moderate (GCS 9-12) or severe (GCS 8 or less) head injury groups, which account for only 5% of attenders. Therefore, emergency departments see a large number of patients with minor or mild head injuries and need to identify the very small number who will go on to have serious acute intracranial complications. It is estimated that 25-30% of children aged under 2 years who are hospitalised with head injury have an abusive head injury. This guideline has updated some of the terminology used in relation to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. |
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| Item Description: | "CG 176 (Partial update of NICE CG56).". - "Methods, evidence and recommendations.". - "January 2014.". - "This guidance partially updates and replaces NICE clinical guideline CG56, Head Injury; Triage, assessment, investigation and early management of head injury in infants, children and adults (published September 2007)."--Page 13 |
| Physical Description: | 1 PDF file (294 pages) illustrations |