Introduction: On March 18, 2009, actress Natasha Richardson died after a head injury. It is possible that the rate of patients presenting with mild head injury and receiving computed tomographies (CTs) may have been influenced by the Richardson event. We hypothesized that there was a statistically significant increase in the rate of census-adjusted head CTs performed for mild trauma after March 16, 2009, compared to prior to this date.
Conclusion: The percentage of all ED patients seen with mild trauma tested with head CT almost doubled when comparing the pre-Richardson accident vs. post time periods. There was an increase in media reports of the accident that occurred rapidly after the event and peaked on day 3.
Internuclear ophthalmoplegia is a rare condition caused by injury to the medial longitudinal fasciculus in the brainstem. It usually occurs in conditions such as stroke or multiple sclerosis and is extremely rare after head injury. We report a case of unilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia, which occurred after a minor head injury in a young male. His only symptoms were headache and diplopia. He was treated conservatively, and his symptoms settled after 3 months.
