Basilar Skull Fracture - Signs and Symptoms

Signs and Symptoms

  • Battle's sign - is ecchymosis of the mastoid process of the temporal bone.
  • Raccoon eyes - is periorbital ecchymosis i.e. "black eyes"
  • Cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea
  • Cranial nerve palsy
  • Bleeding from the nose and ears
  • Hemotympanum
  • conductive or perceptive deafness, nystagmus, vomitus
  • In 1 to 10% of patients, optic nerve entrapment occurs: the optic nerve is pressed by the broken skull bones, causing irregularities in vision.
  • Serious cases usually result in death

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