Management and Outcome of Compound Depressed Skull Fracture

Objectives:  To determine the clinical presentation, management and outcome of patients presenting with compound depressed skull fracture. Study Design:  Descriptive study. Place and Duration of Study:  Bolan Medical Complex Hospital Duration from May 2003 to March 2006. Materials and Methods:  Study conducted on sixty patients with compound depressed skull fracture. Patients of both gender and all age group were included in the study, those with major life threatening injuries to other organs were excluded. Results:  Out of total of 60 patients, 42 (70%) patients were male and 18 (30%) were female. Majority were in the first (33%) second (25%) decade of life (child and young patients). Most of patients were injured as a result of road traffic accidents 32 (53%), fall from height in 16 patients (27%) and assault in 12 (20%). Seventy percent of patients in fall group fell from roof while 30% from electric pool. Patients presented with various signs and symptoms like headache, vomiting (70%), loss of consciousness (33%), ear, nose and throat bleed (40%), CSF rhinorrhea (17%) and fits. Seventy percent of patients in this study presented with sings of raised intracranial pressure. Temporal region was the most frequently affected area in 30 (50%) cases.  Conclusion:  Children and yuoung adults and males are most commonly affected. Road traffic accidents and falls from height are the most common modes of head injury. If treated properly most cases of compound depressed fracture will reveal good results. &nbsp