[Computed tomography of basal skull fractures]

In 241 patients examined for trauma of the skull by computed tomography, 36 fractures of the skull base were diagnosed, in addition to their intracranial lesions. Computed tomography demonstrated twice as many fractures as conventional radiography. Amongst surviving patients, 30% showed abnormalities which were directly related to fractures of the skull base. The type, complications and therapeutic consequences of skull base fractures are discussed. These observations show that the bony injury needs to be carefully considered in order to avoid extensive and time-consuming investigations which might otherwise become necessary later.