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Head injury

Triage, assessment, investigation and early management of head injury in infants, children and adults

Guidance type:  Clinical guideline
Date issued:  September 2007
Expected review date:  TBC
Reference:  CG56

Summary

The advice in the NICE clinical guideline covers:

  • what should happen before someone with a head injury reaches hospital
  • who should go to hospital
  • the checks and tests that should be carried out and the action that should be taken once the test results are known
  • the care people should receive if they have been discharged from hospital within 48 hours
  • the symptoms that healthcare professionals should watch out for after a head injury
  • how information should be exchanged between different healthcare professionals
  • the information and advice that should be made available to people with head injuries and their family or carers.

It does not specifically look at:

  • the investigations or types of surgery that may be needed.

This guideline is an update of the clinical guideline CG4 on head injury that NICE produced in 2003.
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