[Benign secondary disturbance of consciousness (posttraumatic stupor) in children after cerebral trauma].

This is a report on a benign secondary disturbance of consciousness in children after commotio cerebri. The sleepy state is usually seen 15-60 minutes after the injury and continues for about 3 hours. Nearly 1/3 of the patient also had neurologic signs. The characteristic EEG changes consist of slight to moderate slowing-down of the basic activity. The clinical signs subside quickly but generally, the EEG is not normalised before 5 days to 6 weeks after the trauma. A detailed report is given on one child with this somnolent state as one of the 49 observed cases.