Trauma-Related Brain Hemorrhages
Question: What do “traumatic hemorrhages” such as epidural, subdural, and subarachnoid bleeding mean?
Answer: These terms describe blood accumulating in different spaces between the brain and its coverings. The type affects symptoms, imaging findings, and treatment approach.
What should be done first if post-traumatic brain hemorrhage is suspected?
- Call emergency services: Do not delay if there is altered consciousness, increasing drowsiness, seizure, severe headache, vomiting, weakness, or speech disturbance.
- Protect the neck and spine: Avoid moving the person; if possible, keep the head and neck stabilized until professionals arrive.
- CT priority: Brain CT is usually the first choice in emergency evaluation.
Question: Is treatment always surgery?
Answer: No. Treatment depends on hemorrhage location, volume, neurological status, and mass effect.
• In some cases, close monitoring plus repeat imaging is sufficient.
• In others, surgery to evacuate the blood may be required — removing both the toxic blood and the pressure on surrounding brain tissue.
“Outcomes in traumatic hemorrhages are highly variable; traumatic and aneurysmal subtypes of subarachnoid hemorrhage should not be confused.”