HALLUCINOSIS FOLLOWING HEAD INJURY

Eleven patients who evinced hallucinations during the early recovery after head injury were studied in detail in comparison to the head injured controls. All of them had suffered from acceleration injuries. Among the clinical variables, post traumatic amnesia was significantly longer in these patients. Length of FTA was found to be correlated with duration of occurrence of hallucinations. Severity of coma, skull fracture, early seizures and alcohol dependence were not discriminatory between the hallucinated patients and the controls. The disorder tended to be self-limiting and patients recovered without the aid of psychopharmacological measures. Theoretical significance of the findings are discussed in the context of recent literature on head injury.