Cortical blindness and status epilepticus following head injury in a child

Abstract

A three year old boy sustained a depressed fracture of the parietal region when a 25 kg window frame fell on his head from a height of about a 100 feet. His GCS at presentation was E₁V₂M₄. He underwent surgical decompression within a few hours. The patient had echolalia followed by status epilepticus along with Cerebral Salt Wasting and Hyponatremia in the post operative period. He also had Occipital Blindness which resolved.

Keywords

cerebral salt wasting - depressed fracture skull - occipital blindness - seizures

• References

• 1 Helmy A, Vizcay chifi M, Gupta A. Traumatic brain injury: Intensive care management. Br J Anaesth 2007; 99: 32-42
• 2 Tisdall M, Crocker M, Wathiss J, Smith M. Disturbances of sodium in critically ill adult neurological patients: a clinical review. J Neurosurg Anaesthesiol 2006; 18 (01) 57-63
• 3 Zafonte R, Mann N. Cerebral salt wasting syndrome in the brain injury patients: a potential cause of hyponatremia. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 1997; 78: 540-542
• 4 Hudah AM, Trivedi K, Harfer CR. et al Evaluation of seizure like episodes in survivors of moderate and severe traumatic brain injury. J Head Trauma Rehabil 2004; 19: 290-295
• 5 D’Ambrosio R, Perucca E. Epilepsy after head injury. Curr Opin Neurol 2004; 17: 731-735