Brain Injury, Spinal Cord Injury Flashcards
(35 cards)
What is an acquired brain injury (ABI)?
An injury caused to the brain since birth
ABI can be traumatic or non-traumatic.
What is a traumatic brain injury (TBI)?
A brain injury caused by trauma to the head
Includes complications like hypoxemia, hypotension, and intracerebral haematoma.
What are the two main categories of acquired brain injuries?
- Traumatic
- Non-Traumatic
List the causes of traumatic brain injury (TBI).
- Road traffic collisions
- Slipping and falling
- Something falling or being thrown that strikes the head
- Being shaken violently
- Sports-related events or activities
- Acts of violence
What are the immediate signs and symptoms of TBI?
- Difficulty concentrating or confusion
- Changes in consciousness
- Headaches and dizziness
- Vomiting and nausea
- Changes in mood, behavior, or personality
- Changes in the eyes/Dilated pupils
- Hallucinations
- Swelling at the site of a suspected brain injury
- Inability to remember
- Difficulty breathing
- Any fluid leaking from the nose, eyes, or ears
- Difficulties with language or speech
- Changes in vision, especially blurred vision
What are the causes of non-traumatic brain injury?
- Tumour
- Stroke
- Brain haemorrhage
- Encephalitis
- Carbon monoxide poisoning
- Hydrocephalus
- Meningitis
What is cerebral anoxia?
A complete interruption of the supply of oxygen to the brain
What is cerebral hypoxia?
A partial supply of oxygen to the brain that is inadequate to maintain normal brain function
What are common causes of Anoxic Brain Injury?
- Cardiac or respiratory arrest
- Irregular heart rhythm
- Very low blood pressure
- Suffocation
- Choking
- Strangulation
- Very severe asthma attack
- Near drowning
- Exposure to high altitudes
- Smoke inhalation
- Carbon monoxide inhalation
- Poisoning
- Drug overdose
- Electric shock
- Attempted suicide
What are the immediate signs and symptoms of Anoxic Brain Injury?
- Confusion
- Loss of consciousness
- Feeling woozy or dizzy
- Intense headache
- Vomiting
- Changes in behavior or sensation
What types of medical treatment are available for Anoxic Brain Injury?
- Restore normal heartbeat
- Maintain blood pressure
- Ensure good supply of oxygen to the brain
- Admission to intensive care unit
- Use of ventilators
- Drugs to maintain adequate blood pressure
- Medically induced cooling (therapeutic hypothermia)
What are the signs and symptoms of all acquired brain injuries dependent on?
The area of the brain affected:
* Frontal lobe
* Temporal lobe
* Occipital lobe
* Parietal lobe
* Brainstem
* Cerebellum
What are some hidden long-term effects of acquired brain injuries?
- Changes in behavior or personality
- Difficulty with previously unchallenging tasks
- Changes in relationships
- Difficulty with short or long-term memory
- Trouble recognizing familiar people or animals
- New fears or phobias
- Psychological symptoms such as unexplained depression or anxiety
- Frequent headaches
- Unexplained pain in the limbs
- Coma and reduced awareness states
What is the Glasgow Coma Scale?
A scale used to assess the level of consciousness in a person after a brain injury
What is the prognosis for someone with a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 3?
65% mortality
What factors affect the prognosis of brain injury recovery?
- Age
- Location of contusion on the brain
- Length of time spent in coma
- Early signs
Who are members of the multidisciplinary team (MDT) involved in brain injury care?
- Physiotherapist
- Occupational Therapist
- Neurologist
- Rehabilitation doctors
- Clinical neuropsychologist
- Speech and Language Therapist
- Nurses
- Social Workers
- Orthotists
What are key components of physiotherapy management for brain injuries?
- Respiratory Care
- Rehabilitation
- Sensory assessment
- Assess and treat symptoms
What are the three mechanisms of traumatic SCI?
- Destruction from direct trauma
- Compression by bone fragment, hematoma, or disc material
- Ischemia from damage or impingement on the spinal arteries
Define complete SCI.
Complete loss of function below the injury, including motor, sensory, and autonomic dysfunction.
What is the primary characteristic of incomplete SCI?
Some sparing of neural activity below the level of the lesion.
What are the four main types of incomplete SCI?
- Central cord syndrome
- Anterior cord syndrome
- Brown-Sequard syndrome
- Posterior cord syndrome
What is tetraplegia?
Impairment at cervical segments of the cord affecting all four limbs.
What is paraplegia?
Impairment at thoracic, lumbar, or sacral segments of the cord, involving lower limbs.
