False-positive presentation of Battle's sign during hepatic encephalopathy.
BACKGROUND
Battle's sign is a classical clinical sign that has long been held to be synonymous with fracture of the basal skull. As such the presence of Battle's sign is a strong indicator that a basal skull fracture could be present in the head injured patient, as exemplified by its inclusion as a major risk factor in scoring systems designed to assess the likelihood of basal skull fracture.


CONCLUSIONS
We present a case that describes the occurrence of this classic clinical sign in an unlikely setting and, for the first time since it was described more than 120 years ago, re-examine the pathologic basis for its appearance.
Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Royal Free Hospital, Pond Street, London, NW3 2QG, UK. gackland@stanford.edu
G L
GL
Ackland
J
J
O'Beirne
A R
AR
Platts
S C
SC
Ward
D000368:Aged; D001778:Blood Coagulation Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D001929:Brain Edema / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D006501:Hepatic Encephalopathy / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D010808:Physical Examination; D020205:Skull Fracture, Basilar / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed