Delayed intracerebral hematoma due to traumatic aneurysm caused by a shotgun wound: a problem in prophylaxis.

A delayed traumatic intracerebral hematoma was seen in a patient after a shotgun wound to the brain. The cause of the hemorrhage seemed to be a traumatic aneurysm. Both complications are reviewed, and it is suggested that clinical and intracranial pressure monitoring should lead to early diagnosis and may minimize the effects of this problem and that angiography may be appropriate early in the course of patients who have had fragments pass near intracranial vessels.