Lesson 5: Management of Head Trauma

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For every patient who has a head injury, the priority is the stabilization of the airway, breathing and circulation before attending to other injuries. An emergency nurse or trauma nurse who is involved in the assessment of a patient’s head injury should be capable of assessing the presence or absence of the risk factors for head CT and cervical spine. A trauma nurse should assess a head injury patient within a maximum of 15 minutes of arrival at a hospital.  A patient who, on initial assessment, is considered to be at low risk for clinically important brain injury and/or cervical spine injury should be re-examined within another hour by a trauma nurse. A trauma nurse must have knowledge and skills for acute head injuries for the immediate assessment and stabilization of the airway and circulation.

At the end of this lesson, you will  be able to understand:

• Assessment of head injury 
• Preparation for immediate investigation
• Management of head injury

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