[Management of the patient with craniocerebral injuries at the accident site and clinic admission].

Between January 1991 and December 1992, there were 686 rescue operations involving patients with craniocerebral trauma in the catchment area of Ulm. There were 376 patients who had to be graded as seriously injured according to the NACA classification. In 178 cases there was a severe craniocerebral trauma, and 131 of these patients were admitted to the traumatology department of the University of Ulm. The pattern of injuries was analysed; multiple injuries were found in 63 patients, with injuries to the extremities and the thorax being most-frequent. The primary preclinical treatment for patients with craniocerebral trauma is demonstrated; the indications for intubation and artificial respiration are discussed, and also the selection of drugs. Diagnostic procedures and immediate treatment must initially be directed at securing vital functions. Treatment of life-threatening haemorrhage has priority over neurosurgical diagnosis and therapy. The urgent indications for neurosurgical intervention are: space-occupying intracranial bleeding, open craniocerebral traumas, and space-occupying depressed fractures.