Significance of minor traumatic lesions in focal head injuries

We investigated the significance of minor traumatic lesions associated with focal head injuries. Patients included in the study were admitted between January 2003 and December 2007 and had sustained a head injury with focal injury and undergone MRI examination including T2∗-weighted imaging. Patients were divided into two groups: (i) a T2∗-positive group – those who had hypointense lesions at sites other than the original injury site as shown by T2∗-weighted MRI (n = 12); and (ii) a control group without hypointense lesions at sites other than the original injury (n = 25). The median Glasgow Outcome Scale score was significantly lower in the T2∗-positive group (median = 4; range = 4–5) than in the control group (median = 5; range = 4–5; p = 0.003). We conclude that patients with a focal head injury and minor traumatic lesions are likely to have a poorer prognosis than patients without additional minor traumatic lesions.