Ventricular enlargement after closed head injury.

To study the relationship between enlargement of the cerebral ventricles and neuropsychological deficit after closed head injury (CHI), we measured the area of the lateral ventricles on computed tomographic scans obtained at least 30 days after severe CHI in 32 young adults and a control group of similar age. Enlargement of the lateral ventricles was demonstrated in 72% of the head-injured subjects, as defined by the ventricle-brain percent ratio (VBR). Ventricular dilation was related to the duration of coma after high-speed motor vehicle accidents and to intellectual and memory defects. The VBR may be a useful index of the severity of brain damage in certain categories of head-injured patients.