Brain injury : [BI]
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Despite controversy surrounding the concept of mild head injury (MHI), it is becoming evident that even a head trauma termed 'mild' may result in significant behavioural sequelae. The present study was an attempt at documenting structural cerebral damage, by way of computerized tomography, in a group of patients having suffered a MHI as defined by the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score. A 1-year retrospective chart review identified 80 MHI patients who presented to the Emergency department of a lead hospital for trauma. ⋯ Evidence of intracranial abnormalities was obtained in 31% of the overall sample. Patients with a lower GCS score had a higher percentage of abnormal scans than those with a GCS score of either 14 or 15. The present findings suggest that a MHI can be associated with significant morbidity, and that a MHI group does not constitute a homogeneous pool of patients.
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Brain injury : [BI] · Apr 1999
Case ReportsRight median nerve electrical stimulation to hasten awakening from coma.
Electrical stimulation of the right median nerve may hasten the awakening of closed head injured, comatose patients. A series of 25 comatose patients have been treated. ⋯ In a double-blind pilot project patients in the treated group scored better on interval Glasgow Coma Scale scores, spent fewer days in the intensive care unit, and showed better Glasgow Outcome Scores at 1 month post-injury. Peripheral electrical stimulation of the right median nerve, through activation of the ascending reticular activating system, may be sufficient to arouse the moderate to severely comatose patient.
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Brain injury : [BI] · Mar 1999
Epidemiology and predictors of post-concussive syndrome after minor head injury in an emergency population.
To determine if clinical variables or neurobehavioural test (NBT) scores obtained in the ED within 24 hours of minor head injury (MHI) predict the development of postconcussive syndrome (PCS). ⋯ Gender and two NBTs can help predict PCS after MHI.
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Brain injury : [BI] · Jan 1999
The influence of traumatic brain injury on acute stress disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder following motor vehicle accidents.
This study compared the acute stress disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom profiles in motor vehicle accident survivors who sustained a mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) or no TBI. Consecutive adult patients who sustained a MTBI (n = 79) and no TBI (n = 92) were assessed for acute stress disorder within 1 month of their trauma and reassessed for PTSD (MTBI: n = 63; non-TBI; n = 72) 6-months post-trauma. ⋯ Six-months post-trauma fewer MTBI patients than non-TBI reported fear and helplessness in response to the trauma. These findings suggest that, whereas impaired consciousness at the time of a trauma may reduce the frequency of traumatic memories in the initial month post-trauma, MTBI does not result in a different profile of longer-term PTSD.
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Brain injury : [BI] · Jul 1998
Neuropsychological, psychosocial and vocational correlates of the Glasgow Outcome Scale at 6 months post-injury: a study of moderate to severe traumatic brain injury patients.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) subjects at Glasgow Outcome Scale levels 3 (severe disability), 4 (moderate disability), 5 (good recovery), and an other-injury control group (OIC) were compared in terms of neuropsychological, psychosocial, and vocational functioning 6 months after injury. Subjects were a sample of 100 patients with a moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) and a matched sample of 30 other-injury control subjects (OIC) enrolled in the UCLA Brain Injury Research Center study of TBI outcome. ⋯ The results demonstrate overall support for the predictive and concurrent validity of the GOS 6 months post injury. Despite these results, which strengthen the utility and appeal of the GOS for multicentre studies, concerns still remain regarding GOS category 4 (moderate disability), which was shown to lack sufficient discriminability in this study.