Lucid interval

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In emergency medicine, a lucid interval is a temporary improvement in a patient's condition after a head injury, after which the condition deteriorates. A lucid interval is especially indicitave of an epidural hematoma. After the injury, the patient is momentarily dazed or knocked out, and then becomes relatively lucid for a period of time which can last minutes or hours. Thereafter there is rapid decline as the blood collects within the skull, causing a rise in intracranial pressure, which damages brain tissue.

Because a patient may have a lucid interval, any head trauma should be regarded as a medical emergency and warrants a call for help even if the patient is conscious.

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