Nursing Interventions: Head Injuries

1. Maintain a patent airway. Assist with endotracheal intubation or tracheotomy as necessary.
2. Administer medications as ordered.
3. Protect the patient for further injury by using side rails.
4. Assist the unsteady patient with walking.
5. Insert an indwelling urinary catheter if ordered.
6. If the patient is unconscious, insert a nasogastric tube to prevent aspiration.
7. Monitor the patient’s intake and output as needed to help maintain a normovolemic state.
8. Monitor vital signs continuously and check for additional injuries.
9. Observe the patient for headache, dizziness, irritability, and anxiety.
10. Monitor fluid and electrolyte levels and replace them as necessary.
11. Carefully observe the patient for CSF leakage.
12. Tell the patient to return to the hospital immediately if he experiences a persistent worsening headache, forceful or constant vomiting, blurred vision, any change in personality, abnormal eye movements, and twitching.