Each year, 120,000 people in France are victims of head trauma. Highlighted by the death of the actor of Gaspard Ulliel, it results from a violent blow to the head and can cause disabling disabilities, even death in the most serious cases.
- 3.7 million individuals are affected each year in Europe by head injuries.
- Road accidents are responsible for more than 70% of cases of head trauma.
Wednesday, January 19, Gaspard Ulliel died of a traumatic brain injury at the age of 37. Victim the day before of a skiing accident at La Rosière resort, in Savoie, he had violently hit another skier at the intersection between two blue slopes. At the time of the accident, he was not wearing a helmet. “But that wouldn’t necessarily have changed things” otherwise, Albertville prosecutor Anne Gaches told AFP.
A risk of motor and neurological sequelae
The leading cause of death among 15-25 year olds and the leading cause of severe disability among those under 45, head trauma affects more than 120,000 people in France each year. Among them, 10,000 are classified as severe trauma and will have disabling sequelae and disabilities.
Also called cranio-cerebral trauma, cranial trauma occurs during a shock to the head and often follows an accident (road, sports, but also a fall at home, firearm trauma or domestic violence). We talk about head trauma when the brain tissue is destroyed or no longer functions properly, following a shock between the brain and the cranium. Head trauma can also be caused by an open fracture, a penetrating object, or by a mechanism of rapid acceleration or deceleration.
What are the symptoms ?
A head trauma can cause loss of consciousness, headaches, vomiting, convulsions, drowsiness, difficulties of expression or understanding, or loss of sensitivity or motor skills. A discharge of blood or clear fluid from the nose or ear may also be seen.
In general, any symptom or abnormal behavior must be the subject of an emergency consultation with a doctor in order to measure the seriousness of the trauma. In the event of a head injury followed by loss of consciousness, you must immediately call the emergency services (SAMU at 15 or firefighters at 18).
What support ?
When the trauma is mild, no specific treatment is necessary. Monitoring every hour for 48 hours is nevertheless recommended, at home or in the hospital, in order to check the patient’s state of consciousness.
In case of moderate to severe trauma, patients need to be hospitalized in the Adult Intensive Care Unit or Pediatrics if it is a child. In case of hematoma, and to resorb the compression of the brain which can lead to neurological sequelae, surgery is also sometimes necessary. Clinical monitoring, supplemented or not by radiological imaging (CT-scan or MRI), will then allow any complications to be detected.
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