6.Discharge patients with no caretaker at home/prison only if suitable supervision arrangements have been organized, or when the risk of late complications is deemed negligible. 61. What is lucid interval? Classically, trauma is associated with a concussive loss of consciousness. The patient may awaken from this to achieve a good level of consciousness (lucid interval) only to lose consciousness again from brain stem distortion caused by the clot growth. If the bleeding is very severe there is no lucid interval. The person may remain active for a period varying from few hours to a week. It happens in 30-40% of cases. Lucid interval can also be seen in subdural hematoma, fat embolism syndrome or mental illness. 62. Whether cervical vertebra (neck bone) can fracture by its own without trauma? What could be the cause of death in cervical vertebrae fracture? The long duration of symptom of neck pain in absence of any trauma to neck with fracture of cervical vertebrae is suggestive of pathological fracture (due to natural disease process). Cardiovascular disturbances are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in both acute and chronic stages of spinal cord injury consequent to cervical fractures. After spinal shock resolution, in spinal cord injury above T6, generates autonomic dysre lexia, a life–threatening hypertensive bouts with compensatory bradycardia, after noxious stimuli or bladder or bowel distension. Distended bladder is the possible complication in such cases. Cardiac dysfunctions and autonomic dysre lexia remains a possible cause of death in spinal cord injury consequent to cervical vertebral pathological fracture. MEDICAL DIMENSION OF FREQUENTLY ENCOUNTERED CASES | 50