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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffBecause traumatic brain injuries are often emergencies and the consequences can worsen swiftly without treatment, doctors usually need to assess the situation rapidly.
Glasgow Coma Scale
This 15-point test helps assess the severity of a brain injury by checking your ability to follow directions, to blink your eyes or to move extremities. The coherence of your speech also provides important clues. Your abilities are scored numerically. Higher scores mean milder injuries.
Imaging tests
- CT scans. CT scans employ an X-ray unit that rotates around your body and a powerful computer to create cross-sectional images, like slices, of the head. CT scans can quickly visualize fractures and uncover evidence of bleeding in the brain (hemorrhage), large blood clots (hematomas), bruised brain tissue (contusions) and brain tissue swelling.
- MRIs. Doctors rarely use MRIs during emergency assessments of traumatic brain injuries because the procedure takes much longer to complete than do CT scans. Once your condition has been stabilized, you might have an MRI, which utilizes a strong magnet and radio waves to record detailed images of your brain.
Intracranial pressure monitor
Injured brain tissue tends to swell. That can increase the pressure inside the skull and cause additional damage to the brain. Doctors may insert a probe through the skull to monitor this pressure, and sometimes to drain excess fluid.
