Articles: traumatic-brain-injuries.
-
Severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is characterized mainly by diffuse axonal injuries (DAI). The cortico-subcortical disconnections induced by such fiber disruption play a central role in consciousness recovery. We hypothesized that these cortico-subcortical deafferentations inferred from diffusion MRI data could differentiate between TBI patients with favorable or unfavorable (death, vegetative state, or minimally conscious state) outcome one year after injury. ⋯ Fiber density of cortico-subcortical pathways as measured from diffusion MRI tractography is a relevant candidate biomarker for early prediction of one-year favorable outcome in severe TBI.
-
Journal of neurotrauma · Jul 2015
Resilience is Associated with Outcome from Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.
Resilient individuals manifest adaptive behavior and are better able to recover from adversity. The association between resilience and outcome from mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is examined, and the reliability and validity of the Resilience Scale and its short form in mTBI research is evaluated. Patients with mTBI (n=74) and orthopedic controls (n=39) completed the Resilience Scale at one, six, and 12 months after injury. ⋯ Patients with mTBI and moderate-to-high resilience reported significantly fewer post-concussion symptoms, less fatigue, insomnia, traumatic stress, and depressive symptoms, and better quality of life, than the patients with low resilience. No association between resilience and time to return to work was found. Resilience was associated with self-reported outcome from mTBI, and based on this preliminary study, can be reliably evaluated with Resilience Scale and its short form in those with mTBIs.
-
Journal of neurotrauma · Jul 2015
Risk Factors for Early Hemorrhagic Progression After Traumatic Brain Injury: A Focus on Lipid Profile.
The purpose of this study was to identify the risk factors related to the hemorrhagic progression (HP) of brain contusion in patients after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Recently, many studies have reported abnormal lipid levels associated with hemorrhagic stroke. Unlike hemorrhage stroke, however, the lipid profiles in patients with TBI have not been examined. ⋯ Current smoking and a triglyceride (TG) level <150 mg/dL were the only statistically significant predictors of HP in the multivariate analysis (p=0.019, p=0.021, respectively). HP with TBI is common in patients who currently smoke and have lower TG levels (150 mg/dL). These patients should be monitored closely, and surgery may be considered before deterioration occurs.
-
Journal of neurotrauma · Jul 2015
Neurologic Functional and Quality of Life Outcomes after TBI: Clinic Attendees Versus Non-Attendees.
This investigation describes the relationship between TBI patient demographics, quality of life outcome, and functional status outcome among clinic attendees and non-attendees. Of adult TBI survivors with intracranial hemorrhage, 63 attended our TBI clinic and 167 did not attend. All were telephone surveyed using the Extended-Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOSE), the Quality of Life after Brain Injury (QOLIBRI) scale, and a post-discharge therapy questionnaire. ⋯ In addition, survivors who received post-discharge rehabilitation had higher QOLIBRI scores by 11.4 points (95% CI: 3.7-19.1) than those who did not. Survivors with private insurance had QOLIBRI scores that were 25.5 points higher (95% CI: 11.3-39.7) than those with workers' compensation and 16.8 points higher (95% CI: 7.4-26.2) than those without insurance. Because neurologic injury severity, insurance status, and receipt of rehabilitation or therapy are independent risk factors for functional and quality of life outcomes, future directions will include improving earlier access to post-TBI rehabilitation, social work services, affordable insurance, and community resources.
-
Venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is used for patients with severe, potentially reversible, respiratory failure unresponsive to conventional management. It is relatively contraindicated in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) due to bleeding complications and use of anticoagulation. We report two cases of TBI patients treated with ECMO.