Cerebral angiography. Its use in acute head injuries and undiagnosed coma.
One of the major factors in treating a patient with acute alteration of consciousness is to determine if progressive intracranial hemorrhage is present. Similar problems are encountered in cases of cerebrovascular disease where increasingly effective medical and surgical methods of treatment are available. Progressive cerebral thrombosis can be arrested by anticoagulants, intracranial hemorrhage can be controlled and atheromatous occlusion of a major artery can be corrected. Intracranial mass lesions can be detected when the history is not available or is misleading. Cerebral angiography is a relatively safe diagnostic test that is certainly preferable to delayed or haphazard treatment when an exact diagnosis is uncertain in an unconscious patient.
D001930:Brain Injuries; D001932:Brain Neoplasms; D002533:Cerebral Angiography; D002539:Cerebral Arterial Diseases; D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders; D003128:Coma; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma; D005909:Glioblastoma; D006335:Heart Injuries; D006406:Hematoma; D006408:Hematoma, Subdural; D006801:Humans; D020766:Intracranial Embolism; D002542:Intracranial Embolism and Thrombosis; D012887:Skull Fractures
BRAIN INJURY, ACUTE; BRAIN NEOPLASMS; CEREBRAL ANGIOGRAPHY; CEREBRAL ARTERY DISEASES; CEREBRAL EMBOLISM AND THROMBOSIS; CEREBRAL HEMORRHAGE; COMA; GLIOBLASTOMA MULTIFORME; HEART INJURIES; HEMATOMA, SUBDURAL; SKULL FRACTURES