Traumatic Brain Injury Research Paper

CHAPTER – I

INTRODUCTION

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a worldwide public health problem. Over the last several decades, improvements in acute care have resulted in higher survival rates. In developed countries, there has been a reduction in the mortality rates associated with TBI, generally attributed to improved systems of trauma care and improved motor vehicle safety design. Many individuals with mild traumatic brain injury and virtually all individuals who survive moderate and severe TBI are left with significant long-term neurobehavioral sequelae, including cognitive deficits, changes in personality and increased rates of psychiatric illness. These neurobehavioral problems are understandable in the context of the typical profile of

MTBI is, “trauma in which the head is struck, or moves violently, resulting in a transient alternation of consciousness, for which the patient is hospitalized for a relatively brief period of time (usually a few days, followed by discharge home with no prescription for formal rehabilitation). A patient with mild traumatic brain injury is a person who had a traumatically induced physiological disruption of brain function, as manifested by loss of consciousness, loss of memory for events immediately before or after the accident or any alteration in mental state at the time of the accident (e.g. feeling dazed, disorientated, confused); and focal neurological deficit(s) that may or may not be transient, but where the severity of the injury does not exceed loss of consciousness of 30 minutes; after 30 minutes, an initial Glasgow Coma Scale score of 13–15; and posttraumatic amnesia not greater than 24 hours” (Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee,

It should be recognized that patients with mild traumatic brain injury can exhibit persistent emotional, cognitive, behavioral and physical symptoms, alone or in combination, which may produce a functional disability. These symptoms generally fall into one of the following categories and are additional evidence that a mild traumatic brain injury has occurred. A combination of the above-mentioned symptoms is most common. MTBI has an enormous adverse effect on balance, cognitive functioning, and symptoms in the first 24 hours post injury (Iverson, 2012). Symptoms are usually at their worst in the first 72 hours post injury and a gradual symptom recovery occurs over period of 7 to 30 days in majority of