Cognitive sequelae in relationship to early indices of severity of brain damage after severe blunt head injury.

A group of 89 severely head injured patients was tested psychologically within two years of injury, and test performance was related to indices of brain damage. Duration of coma (Glasgow Coma Scale) bore little relationship to later cognitive outcome but duration of post-traumatic amnesia significantly predicted cognitive performance. Patients with an operated haematoma performed better than non-operated cases, reflecting a selection bias. The side of haematoma was not significant, nor were the presence, or type, or side of skull fracture.