Head injuries in children

Our contribution reviews the diagnostic algorithm of head injuries in child ren. According to the Heidelberg consensus on head injury, patients should be divided into three risk groups. In low-risk patients clinical observatio n is the method of choice and radiological examinations are usually unneces sary. Patients at medium risk should be observed carefully. Sometimes neuro surgical consultation or CT is necessary. High risk patients in most instan ces need CT and neurosurgical consultation. Skull X-ray is helpful only in selected cases. A simple fracture as demonstrated by skull X-ray has no the rapeutic consequence. However, normal findings in skull X-ray do not exclud e intracranial injury. CT is the method of choice to detect intracranial he morrhage, epi- or subdural hematoma and cerebral contusion. If patients pre sent with severe clinical deficits, CT allows characterization of lesions a nd initiation of specific therapy.