Definition of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

I. INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this article is to make lawyers familiar, perhaps a problem with unknown symptoms, their customers can not even explain their current physicians. The instability of head injury has been summarized by Hippocrates: "No head injury is too severe to despair, nor too trivial to be ignored." I hope this article will provide clarification of symptoms and the cause for those who have suffered a minor injury> Brain Injury.

II A BRIEF HISTORY

Mild Traumatic Brain has been controversial for over a century. Strauss and Savitsky, 1934; Trimble 1981 W. Randolf Evans in his book, neurology and trauma on page 93, the post-concussion syndrome with concussion following a standard minor compromises or more of the following systems and symptoms: headache, drowsiness, dizziness, tinnitus, loss, blurred vision, diplopia, convergenceInsufficiency, light and noise sensitivity, decreases the taste and smell, irritability, anxiety, depression, personality change, fatigue, insomnia, decreased libido, decreased appetite, memory loss, impaired concentration and attention , slow reaction time, and slowing the speed of information processing. ... The most common complaints are headache, dizziness, fatigue, irritability, anxiety, insomnia, loss of concentration and memory, and sensitivity to noise. LossConsciousness does not seem to develop for the post-concussive syndrome. On page 94, under the title "Historical Aspects", Evans writes: The post-concussion syndrome has been recognized for at least the last hundred years. An interesting historical case involved a 26-year-old servant girl who has fought over the head with a stick and had complained of retrograde amnesia. Six months later she was still complaining of headaches, dizziness, tinnitus, and fatigue. A judgesought the advice of a physician and two other JJ Wepfer Swiss surgeons, said: "We can 't say anything definite, but they certainly left their traces in the form of an obstacle." This statement was made 1694. Date of cerebral lesions in biblical times, as in Joel King killed Sisera by driving metal tent Aa through his temples, while he slept. "And of course, Goliath, who suffered a concussion and probably a depression fracture of the skullas a result of the young David 's Stone Sling Shot. (Corville CB: Some notes on the history of the skull and brain. Bull LA Neurol Soc 9:1-16, 1944.)

III in head trauma

In his article, the terminology of post-concussion syndrome, Berrol Seldon, MD says:

The subcommittee mild traumatic brain injury of the Head Injury Interdisciplinary Special Interest Group of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicinehas a mild traumatic brain injury referred to (mild concussion), as the preferred term for persons in possession of a traumatically induced physiological disruption of brain function, because at least one of the following expression:

1. The duration of unconsciousness.

2. Any loss of memory for events immediately before or after the accident.

3. Any change in mental state at the time of the accident (eg feeling dazed, disoriented, or confused.)

4. Focal neurological deficits, which may not be temporary, but if the severity of the damage does not exceed the following:

a. loss of consciousness about 30 minutes or less.

b. After 30 minutes the first Glasgow Coma Scale score of 13-15.

c. Post-traumatic amnesia not exceeding 24 hours. This definition includes:

(a) the head beaten

(b) the head is an object, and

(c)> Brain during acceleration / deceleration movement (for example), whiplash injury without direct external trauma to the head. It includes stroke, hypoxia, tumors, encephalitis, etc. CT, MRI, EEG may, neurological evaluations, and normal routine.

Given the lack of medical emergency or the circumstances of some medical systems can not in some patients of the above factors, documented by physicians in the acute phase. In such cases it is appropriate, a symptom complex that controls whether a connectiontraumatic head injuries may suggest the existence of a mild head injury. Alexander mild head injury is defined as follows:

The severity of TBI is defined by the features serious damage and not for the severity of symptoms at random points after trauma. Mild head injury is characterized by the following characteristics:

(1) head trauma may contact forces or acceleration / deceleration trauma.

(2) The duration of unconsciousness is brief, usually seconds or minutes, and in someCases, there is no loss of consciousness (LOC), but only a consciousness briefly stunned.

(3) If the patient is evaluated in the emergency room or scene must be the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) 13 to 15, from the definition of usual. . . only a value of 15 is probably true mild head injury.

(4) if the patient is conscious or not, in short, a confusion with amnesia. . . There is, by definition, less than 24 hours, but usually minutes to several hours. . . (b)common agreement of the clinical, imaging studies are negative, but the key may be more complicated than just positive or negative results on CT. Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Neurology 1995, 45:1253-1260. The term "mild" traumatic brain injury is still with the design criteria, but not the medicine is widely accepted by sports doctors must take to assess the degree of brain dysfunction. "A traumatic brainoccurs when he is forced to soft tissues of the brain, in contact with the hardware, Boney, outer covering of the brain, the skull. With head trauma, the average patient in order, as well as neck and back injuries. Mild brain injury can occur after a serious injury to the neck without the head actually hitting any surface. ... Mild head trauma, not "should" small ". The long-term sequelae of this type of lesion and itspoor prognosis is often too great a problem. cervical and lumbar spine occur frequently, and the manifestations of soft tissue are inevitable, at least for a short period of time after mild to moderate traumatic brain injury. "

Closed Head Injury: A Clinical Source Book, 2nd ed. Dr. Peter Bernad, 1998, Lexis Law Publishing.

IV THE HOLLYWOOD MYTH

Mild traumatic brain injury occurs when the soft tissues of the brain to be pushedBoney against the structures of the skull like whiplash, acceleration / deceleration movements. The problem with most of us is in Chapter Randolf Evans', entitled The Post-Concussion Syndrome in prognosis of neurological disorders, Evans, Baskins and yatsu, Oxford University Press, 1992, page 99: Most people know the consequences of mild head injury is largely the product of the magic of cinema. Some of the funniest scenes in Slap stick comedy and cartoonBearing characteristics of one or more head injuries and was stunned and immediately recovered. In cowboy movies, detective stories and action, and the boxing and kung-fu movies, apparently severe head injury is often caused by beatings with rifles and heavy objects falling, motor vehicle accidents, punches and kicks, all without lasting consequences. Our experience is minuscule compared to the thousands of simulated head injuries seen in the movies and on television. Because of the prevailing Mythology, the physician has a difficult task to educate patients, their families and others in the reality of mild head trauma. However, if there are two successful examples of the boxer Joe Lewis and Muhammad Ali, behaved as excessive pressure, disoriented, experienced fighter or knock outs. AMemory loss and suffering from dementia, was a frequent finding in ex-combatants. "Sports and head injuries, Chapter 10 of Neurology and Trauma, Polin Alves and Jane.

"Mild head> Injury characterized by temporary amnesia, brief loss of consciousness, and persistent headache or mild neurological symptoms is more difficult to document the severe or moderate head injuries. In an analysis of 1165 Fights: Sercl Jaros and found that 79% of current boxers had neurological symptoms, while 21% had deficits, at least 24 hours. "

Anatomy IV of brain injury

Brain lesions are produced by displacement and distortion ofneural tissue in the moment of impact. The brain, which is incompressible, it can be likened to a water-soaked dive log floating in water. The brain floats in cerebrospinal fluid in the subarachnoid space and is in a certain amount possible. . . the sliding movement. Given these anatomical facts that may cause the punches to the front or back of the head to a shift of the brain, severe brain damage, stretching and distortingthe brain stem and stretching and even tearing of the commissure of the brain ... . It is also important to remember that the eyes can cause significant blows to the head rotation of the brain, strains with the scissors and the distortion of the brain, particularly in areas where the rotation is further hindered by the bony prominences. . . Brain injuries are very common, when the brain is thrown violently against the edges of the bones ofSkull. . . . A heavy blow to the head, how can a car accident, the damage to the brain ...

Richard S. Snell, MD, Ph.D. Clinical Neuroanatomy for medical students, 4th Ed, P. 27-28.

V. CONCLUSIONS

Traumatic Brain Injury has a significant impact on the lives of those it touches. Mild Traumatic Brain Injury should not be equated with a minor injury. Mild Brain Injury is thetemporary impairment of brain function by trauma to the head. A Mild Brain Injury and it is not serious enough to require the court to formal rehabilitation. Usually the individual is sent directly home from the hospital. However, if the brain cells can be quite damaged, a person changes Standing in their way of thinking, feeling and acting experience.