title: Crowbar impalement of the brain.
abstract: The management of impaled foreign objects is always a challenge. Stabilization of the object, control of hemorrhage, and adherence to the basic principles of airway and breathing control are hallmarks of prehospital management. Once the patient is in the hospital, a careful assessment of the involved vital structures is essential before removal is attempted. A penetrating injury to the left hemisphere of the brain with a crowbar is presented. This case demonstrates the characteristics of these injuries in terms of extrication, assessment, management of complications, and neurologic sequelae.
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Jacobs
authors.forename: L D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Berrizbeitia
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ordia
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D001037:Aphasia / Q000209:etiology; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D003646:Debridement; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*