Articles: traumatic-brain-injuries.
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Traumatic brain injury associated coagulopathy is frequent, either in isolated traumatic brain injury in civilian practice and in combat traumatic brain injury. In war zone, it is a matter of concern because head and neck are the second most frequent site of wartime casualty burden. Data focusing on transfusion requirements in patients with war related TBI coagulopathy are limited. ⋯ The results of this study support previous observations of coagulopathy as a frequent complication of traumatic brain injury. The majority of patients with war related penetrating traumatic brain injury presented with extracranial lesions. Most of them required a high level of transfusion capacity.
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Nursing in critical care · May 2017
ReviewTherapeutic hypothermia in patients following traumatic brain injury: a systematic review.
The efficacy of therapeutic hypothermia in adult patients with traumatic brain injury is not fully understood. The historical use of therapeutic hypothermia at extreme temperatures was associated with severe complications and led to it being discredited. Positive results from animal studies using milder temperatures led to renewed interest. However, recent studies have not convincingly demonstrated the beneficial effects of therapeutic hypothermia in practice. ⋯ Therapeutic hypothermia can have a positive impact on patient outcome, but more research is required.
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Case Reports
Global aphasia without hemiparesis may be caused by blunt head trauma: An adolescent boy with transient aphasia.
Global aphasia without hemiparesis is a rare condition often associated with embolic stroke. Posttraumatic causes have not been reported, in the literature, to our knowledge. ⋯ In our case, clinical findings occurred 1week later following head trauma. Emergence of the symptoms after a period of the first mechanical head trauma, draws attention to the importance of secondary process in traumatic brain injury.
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Sleep disturbance crosscuts post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). Though previous cross-sectional findings demonstrate a compounding effect of PTSD and TBI comorbidity, relatively little is known about the longitudinal trajectory of sleep-related complaints in veterans with TBI history and current PTSD symptoms. In this study, we explored patterns and predictors of sleep complaints in a sample of combat veterans with and without TBI and PTSD. ⋯ Whereas changes in PTSD symptoms over time were associated with worsening sleep symptoms, improvement in sleep reports was most consistently predicted by the passage of time. Our data also provide preliminary support for using three-to-four core items (i.e., trouble sleeping, changes in sleep, fatigue, and nightmares) to screen for sleep complaints in veterans with TBI and PTSD and/or track sleep-related outcomes.
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To describe the diagnostic types and characteristics of headaches in soldiers with mild traumatic brain injury during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. ⋯ Persistent post-traumatic headache is most likely to present with continuous pain. Migraine is the most common primary diagnosis type. The presence of a continuous headache was strongly associated with negative occupational outcomes. Primary headache diagnosis type was not. Headache characteristics, therefore, may be more important than diagnosis type when determining active duty status. Further prospective research is indicated.