• Josep Puig, Michael J Ellis, Jennifer Kornelsen, Teresa D Figley, Chase R Figley, Pepus Daunis-I-Estadella, MutchW Alan CWACCanada North Concussion Network, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.Neuroscience Research Program, Kleysen Institute for Advanced Medicine, Winnipeg Health Sciences Center, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and, and Marco Essig.
• Department of Radiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
• J. Neurotrauma. 2020 Aug 15; 37 (16): 1761-1776.

AbstractThere is growing interest in developing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) biomarkers of brain connectivity from resting-state functional (rs-fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to aid in the diagnosis and management of patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). To determine whether early MRI biomarkers of brain connectivity are useful in predicting outcome after mTBI, we conducted a systematic review using the following inclusion criteria: 1) patients aged >16 years with mTBI, 2) MRI performed during the first month post-injury, 3) outcome measure available, 4) control group, and 5) original article published in a peer-reviewed journal. Of the 1351 citations identified, 14 studies met inclusion criteria (5 rs-fMRI and 10 DTI; 680 patients with mTBI vs. 436 controls) including those where MRI was performed from <12 h to 1 month post-injury. The most common clinical outcome measure used in these studies was symptom burden using the Rivermead Post-Concussion Questionnaire. The most frequently studied brain connectivity MRI biomarkers were global functional connectivity, default-mode network, and fractional anisotropy (FA). Despite the scant evidence and considerable methodological heterogeneity observed among studies, we conclude that brain connectivity MRI biomarkers obtained within 1 month of injury may be potentially useful in predicting outcome in mTBI. Further longitudinal studies are needed to evaluate the effect of mTBI on MRI-based brain connectivity biomarkers and examine how incorporation of these tests can inform the clinical care of individual mTBI patients.

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