Ten proposals for taking care of casualties with head injuries. (English)

1: Disturbance of consciousness is all important symptom that call help to give all indication of the degree of possible brain damage. 2: Even if the casualty does not appear to have suffered any direct trauma to the head, care must still be taken when handling him or her. 3: It is important to assess the casualty's degree of consciousness and observe any changes over the course of time. 4: Apparent recovery of consciousness still requires observation of the casualty. 5: In what situation does a casualty need to consult a neurosurgeon? The casualty needs to consult a neurosurgeon when he or she has any or a combination of the following: continuous disturbances of consciousness, temporary losses of consciousness, when the casualty does not remember the situation before or after the injury, feels nauseous, actually vomits, feels giddy, or has numbness or weakness in the limbs. 6: Always be well aware in advance of the nearest well-equipped medical facility to the site of your sports ground. 7: The casualty must be lifted carefully: The cervical vertebrae, spinal cord, or both could be damaged at the same time as the head injury. 8: A player in bad physical condition should not take part in training or a game. 9: Be circumspect when returning to training or active participation: Repeated impacts to the head may result in serious brain damage. 10: A brain check-up is recommended for athletes exposed frequently to the risks of head injuries. Some standards, proposed by the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) or the Concussion in Sports Group (CISG), have been presented on the Internet. Sports doctors should be familiar with these standards and give such concussion-related casualties the optimum advice so they can return in an appropriate manner to training or participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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