Traumatismo craneoencefálico

Abstract

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the leading causes of death and disability in children in developed countries and one of the most frequent reasons for consultation in Pediatrics. Any TBI can produce intracerebral lesions (ICL); therefore, once it has occurred, our goal will be to identify patients with ICL or at risk of developing it, and to prevent, as far as possible, that initial damage from increasing. To achieve this, we have universally accepted clinical guidelines, which help us to provide the best measures for the prevention of secondary damage and treatment of TBI in children. The severity of TBI is established mainly with the Glasgow scale, being the majority mild. Cranial tomography (CT) is the reference diagnostic test, although in the absence of risk factors for ICL, clinical observation in mild TBI is a valid alternative to performing an imaging test. Knowing the pathophysiology of TBI and how factors such as hypoxia, hypercapnia, hypotension, or intracranial hypertension can increase brain injury, will allow us to optimize initial stabilization and thereby, improve prognosis and survival of the child with severe TBI.