A Study on the Association Between Extradural Hemorrhage and Skull Fractures in Head Injury

Abstract

Fatal Intracranial haemorrhages have always been a major cause of mortality especially in traumatic head injuries. With the exponential growth in motor traffic and drastic changes in lifestyles, trauma especially involving the head has been a saddening reality in today’s advanced urban life. This study involving 235 cases of deaths due to intracranial haemorrhages of varying aetiologies, specifically focuses on the propensity of association between Extradural Haemorrhage and skull fractures. It has been revealed in this study that of the various types of haemorrhages involving the brain, Extradural Haemorrhage is the least common, accounting for a meagre 3.8% (9cases) of the total number of cases. A total of 111 cases involved in the study manifested with skull fractures on the whole. Eight out of the aforementioned nine cases (88.8%) with Extradural Haemorrhage showed associated skull fractures. It therefore supports the observations made by several previous researchers that Extradural Haemorrhages are almost always associated with a fracture of the skull with exceptions that has mostly to do with age of the victims.