Pathophysiology of extradural hematoma and subdural hematoma.

Pathophysiology of extradural hematoma and subdural hematoma.

Patient 1 – Two individuals come to the emergency department with head injuries. One, 25 years old, has just been in a motor vehicle accident (MVA) and has a temporal lobe injury. The other, 65 years old, has increasing confusion after a fall that happened earlier in the week.

a. Differentiate the pathophysiology of extradural hematoma and subdural hematoma.

b. Identify the patient in the above scenario requiring immediate emergency surgical intervention and provide rationale for your choice.

Patient 2 – An 38 year old was driving his 1970 Chevy Corvette to a Milwaukee Brewers baseball game when a deer jumped out in front of him on the highway. He swerved his car and hit a telephone pole instead. His head hit the windshield and he suffered severe head trauma.

a. Describe the most likely specific type of head injury he suffered.

b. Outline the treatment plan for this patient.

Estimated time to complete: 6 hours