IMAGING HEAD TRAUMA PATIENTS: PROGNOSTIC VALUE OF MRI

摘要

Head trauma constitutes an important cause of morbidity and mortality in both humans and animals. Concerted efforts to improve the clinical outcome of each patient with head injury can only be effective if (i) the true extent of the initial brain injury can be defined and (ii) we develop an understanding of what this injury actually means in terms of the treatment required and the prognosis for the individual. At the present time, we are just coming to terms with the clinical indications of brain injury and its prognostic implications, through scoring systems such as the modified Glasgow Coma Scale (MGCS). In veterinary medicine, imaging has played a small subjective role in efforts to predict the final outcome after a head injury; however, with the increasing use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), we have the opportunity to develop objective and more accurate predictions of outcome.