B-ENT

Basilar skull fractures: the petrous bone

1.

ENT Department, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium

2.

Department of ENT, UZ Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 101, 1090 Brussels Belgium

3.

Department of Emergency Medicine, Ghent University Hospital

B-ENT 2016; 12: Supplement 193-201
Read: 709 Downloads: 590 Published: 03 February 2020

Basilar skull fractures: the petrous bone. Objectives: to provide suggestions for the management of three of the most dangerous or important lesions (internal carotid artery lesions, cerebrospinal fluid leaks and facial nerve paralysis) associated with the petrous part of basilar skull fractures, thereby trying to assess categories of evidence and determine strengths of recommendation.

Methodology: A PubMed-based literature review was carried out, as well as a consultation of online sources as encountered in the literature review. Also, a non-systematic search of chapters of well-known books dealing with the subject of temporal bone traumata was conducted.

Results: Specific levels of evidence and/or strength of recommendation can be retrieved from the literature, but only with respect to the prophylactic use of antibiotics, the prescription of antithrombotic medications and the indications for angiography.

Conclusion: The ample amount of available literature allows for sound management decisions, with reference made to algorithms when available in the literature. Nevertheless, for most of the management/search questions, categories of evidence and strength of recommendation are low or lacking.

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EISSN 2684-4907