The relationship of closed-head trauma to rupture of saccular intracranial aneurysms

It is often asserted, especially in worker's compensation cases, that blunt trauma or work-related physical exertion can be responsible for the rupture of a preexisting saccular intracranial aneurysm. However, a critical review of the literature and extensive personal experience indicates no or at best a very weak relationship between blunt closed-head trauma and the rupture of a preexisting saccular intracranial aneurysm. This report is based on a 19-year study of the effects of trauma on aneurysms in a clinical and autopsy-derived population.