Epilepsy after nonmissile depressed skull fracture

✓ Of 1000 patients with nonmissile depressed skull fractures, 10% had early epilepsy (first week) and 15% developed late epilepsy. The risk of late epilepsy varied widely but could be predicted from clinical data 1 week after injury. In more than one-third of the patients with depressed fractures the risk of late epilepsy is less than 4%, but in some patients it is over 60%. The risk is increased if posttraumatic amnesia exceeds 24 hours, if the dura is torn, if there are focal signs, or if there has been early epilepsy.