A Study on Pattern of Coup-contrecoup Head Injury in Autopsy Cases
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48165/jiafm.2024.46.2(Suppl).3Keywords:
Coup injury, Contrecoup injury, Motion, At rest, Impact, Road traffic accidents, Fall from heightAbstract
Head injuries constitute a significant number of cases brought to the casualty department of a hospital and also contribute majorly to deaths caused by transportation injuries. Understanding the mechanism and patterns of such injuries and their relation with the manner of infliction is of utmost importance to formulate preventive measures. This study was conducted to throw light on the dynamics and pattern of coup and contrecoup head injuries. A total of 263 cases fulfilling the inclusion criteria were studied prospectively with a male preponderance of 86%. Majority of the subjects were in the age range of 21 to 30 years (20.91%) followed by the age range of 41 to 50 years ( 17.87%). The most common pattern of injury was subdural haemorrhage (SDH) only followed by presence of both SDH and subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). Among 263 cases studied, At the time of impact, in 249 cases head was in a state of motion and in 14 cases, at rest. Statistical analysis concluded that proportion of contre-coup injury is more in cases where head was in motion during impact. Brain contusion was also seen more in cases of contrecoup injury than coup injury.
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