Quantitive imaging in late traumatic brain injury. Part I: late imaging parameters in closed and penetrating head injuries.
OBJECTIVE
To ascertain the value of relatively simple quantitative radiologic measurements after head injury. Despite major advances in neuroradiology, analysis and reporting of imaging studies is based primarily on individual subjective and local experience, rather than on reproducible, standardized parameters; reliance on newer technologies can improve care, but also raises diagnostic costs.


METHODS
Blinded, retrospective, quantitative assessment of computerized tomography studies done some 14 years post-injury.


METHODS
Frontal horn width (FHW); septum-caudate distance (SCD); temporal horn width (THW); interuncal distance (IUD); third ventricle width (3VW); ventricular score (VS); sulcal width (SW); gray-white matter discriminability (GWMD) and subjective assessment of atrophy (SAOA).


RESULTS
Diffuse and frontal damage was noted in both closed (CHI) and penetrating (PHI) head injury groups. Enlargement of frontal lobe parameters (septum caudate distance and frontal horn width suggest frontal injury in both closed and penetrating traumatic brain injury (TBI). Temporal horn width and inter-uncal distance were related to VS, 3VW and FHW in closed, but not in penetrating head injury.


CONCLUSIONS
Simple linear CSF space measurements are correlated with volumetric and parenchymal measures, and can represent valuable and reliable low-cost quantitative measures of long term brain damage after TBI.
Defense and Veterans Head Injury Program, Ra'anana, Israel.
Irith I
II
Reider-Groswasser
Zeev
Z
Groswasser
Alexander K
AK
Ommaya
Karen
K
Schwab
Anthony
A
Pridgen
Herbert R
HR
Brown
Reginald
R
Cole
Andres M
AM
Salazar
D001284:Atrophy; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D002552:Cerebral Ventricles / Q000473:pathology; D014695:Cerebral Ventriculography; D016489:Head Injuries, Closed / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D020197:Head Injuries, Penetrating / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed