Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Flashcards
(149 cards)
Traumatic brain injury (diagram on slide 3)
- brain dysfunction caused by an outside force, usually a blow to the head
- characterized by the severity of the initial blow = mild TBI, moderate TBI, or severe TBI
- external injury caused by a force towards the head
Non-traumatic brain injury (nTBI)
- brain dysfunction caused by an internal event
- includes things like stroke, anoxia, tumor, infection, aneurysm, metabolic disorders, or toxic exposure
Other commonly used brain injury terms
- acquired brain injury (ABI) = refers to any brain injury (BI) that was acquired after birth (not congenital)
- concussion = mostly used to describe mild TBI (not used consistently and often misunderstood)
Causes of brain injury (diagram on slide 4)
- stroke
- anoxic/hypoxic
- poison
- virus
- tumor
- fall
- motor vehicle accident
- stroke by an object
- sports
- IED (bomb or destructive device)
Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- a nondegenerative, noncongenital alteration in brain function caused by an external force
Brain trauma that includes at least one of the following: - loss of consciousness
- posttraumatic amnesia (don’t know where you are)
- disorientation and confusion
Severe cases: - positive neuroimaging
- seizures
- visual deficits
- sensory loss
- hemiparesis
(Would not be able to see anything in mild cases in MRIs or CAT scans)
Classifications (levels) of TBI
- mild
- moderate
- severe
- based on loss of consciousness or coma, posttraumatic amnesia, and disorientation and confusion at the initial assessment
Glasgow Coma Scale (diagram on slide 7)
Eye opening:
- spontaneous = 4
- to sound = 3
- to pressure = 2
- none = 1
Verbal response:
- orientated = 5
- confused = 4
- words = 3
- sounds = 2
- none = 1
Motor response:
- obey commands = 6
- localizing = 5
- normal flexion = 4
- abnormal flexion = 3
- extension = 2
- none = 1
Scores:
- mild = 13-15
- moderate = 9-12
- severe = 3-8
Diagram on slide 9
PTA (post-traumatic amnesia) = how long did it take them to come out of LOC (loss of consciousness)
- mild = less than 30 min (duration of LOC) and 1 day (duration of PTA)
- moderate = 30min-24 hrs (duration of LOC) and 1-7 days (duration of PTA)
- severe = more than 24 hrs (duration of LOC) and more than 7 days (duration of PTA)
Concussions
- a type of mild TBI (induced by outside force)
- a traumatic brain injury induced by biomechanics forces
- typically results in short term neurological impairments that may or may not be detected by neuroimaging
- symptoms can show within 24-48 hours after injury (can also happen immediately)
Post-concussion syndrome
- symptoms began or have gotten worse since concussion onset and may persist for 3 or more months
Cognitive-related symptoms of post-concussion syndrome (diagram on slide 11)
- difficulty concentrating
- difficulty finding things
- difficulty reading
- easily distracted
- brain fog
- memory problems
Sensory-related symptoms of post-concussion syndrome (diagram on slide 11)
- blurry vision
- car sickness or nausea with motion
- change in (or loss of) taste or smell
- ringing ears
Mood-related symptoms of post-concussion syndrome (diagram on slide 11)
- anxiety
- depression
- feeling overwhelmed
- irritability
- low energy or motivation
- various other mood/personality changes
Blood dysregulation symptoms (diagram on slide 11)
- headache
- fatigue
- nausea
- dizziness
- sensitivity to light and noise
- sleep disturbances
- pressure in the head
- persistent neck pain
- tired eyes
Second impact syndrome (SIS)
- a condition that occurs when an concussed individual sustains a second impact upon their head before fully recovering from the first blow
- once you have had a concussion, you are more susceptible to having a second concussion
- after a concussion, your brain still is damaged (shaking in the jello mold demo)
- best way to prevent SIS is to ensure proper rest and recovery following an initial concussion
Symptoms of secondary impact syndrome
- loss of consciousness
- headache
- vomiting
- dilated pupils or vision loss
- seizure
Populations at highest risk for secondary impact syndrome
- young people ages 13-24
- males
- athletes in high contact sports, such as American football, hockey, and boxing
Common misdiagnoses of secondary impact syndrome
- cardiovascular emergency
- stroke
- seizure
Types of brain injury
- closed brain injury
- penetrating brain injury
- blast brain injury
Closed brain injury
- damage to the brain caused by blunt force
- head being struck by an object or hitting the dashboard in a MVA
Penetrating brain injury
- damage to the brain caused by a foreign object, such as a bullet
- perforates the skull and passes into the brain tissue
Blast brain injury
- damage to the brain caused by energy waves from an explosion such as a bomb
- creates bulk acceleration of the head, vascular surge in the brain, and dynamic deformation of the skull
- seen in veterans and workers who use a jackhammer
Types of brain damage
- focal
- diffuse
- primary
- secondary
Focal damage
- limited to one area of the brain