Brain Injury
Traumatic brain injury is sudden physical damage to the brain. The damage may be caused by the head forcefully hitting an object such as the dashboard of a car (closed head injury) or by something passing through the skull and piercing the brain, as in a gunshot wound (penetrating head injury). The major causes of head trauma are motor vehicle accidents. Other causes include falls, sports injuries, violent crimes, and child abuse.
Approximately 200,000 Americans die each year from brain injuries. An additional half million or more are hospitalized. About 10 percent of the surviving individuals have mild to moderate problems that threaten their ability to live independently. Another 200,000 have serious problems that may require institutionalization or some other form of close supervision. Of all types of personal injury, those to the brain are among the most likely to result in death or permanent disability. Estimates of traumatic brain injury (TBI) incidence, severity, and cost reflect the enormous losses to individuals, their families, and society from these injuries. These data demonstrate a critical need for more effective ways to prevent brain injuries and care for those who are injured.
Nearly 1.5 million cases of TBI-some mild, some severe-are reported each year in this country. About 50,000 of the people who have a TBI die, and about 80,000 leave the hospital with a disability. Today, about 5.3 million people in this country live with a disability that was caused by a traumatic brain injury.
What is traumatic brain injury?
Traumatic brain injury (often called a TBI) is an injury to the head that disrupts the normal function of the brain. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs when a sudden physical assault on the head causes damage to the brain. The damage can be focal, confined to one area of the brain, or diffuse, involving more than one area of the brain. TBI can result from a closed head injury or a penetrating head injury. A closed head injury occurs when the head suddenly and violently hits an object, but the object does not break through the skull.
A penetrating head personal injury occurs when an object pierces the skull and enters the brain tissue. Several types of traumatic injuries can affect the head and brain. A skull fracture occurs when the bone of the skull cracks or breaks. A depressed skull fracture occurs when pieces of the broken skull press into the tissue of the brain. This can cause bruising of the brain tissue, called a contusion.
A contusion can also occur in response to shaking of the brain within the confines of the skull, an injury called "countrecoup." Shaken baby syndrome is a severe form of head injury that occurs when a baby is shaken forcibly enough to cause extreme countrecoup injury. Damage to a major blood vessel within the head can cause a hematoma or heavy bleeding into or around the brain. The severity of a TBI can range from a mild concussion to the extremes of coma or even death.
What are the symptoms of TBI Brain Injury?
Symptoms of a TBI Brain Injury may include the following:
- headaches
- nausea
- confusion or other cognitive problems
- a change in personality
- depression
- irritability
- other emotional and behavioral problems
- seizures
Is there any treatment for Brain Injury?
Immediate treatment for TBI brain injury involves surgery to control bleeding in and around the brain, monitoring and controlling intracranial pressure, insuring adequate blood flow to the brain, and treating the body for other injuries and infection.
What is the prognosis for a Brain Injury?
The outcome of TBI brain injury depends on the cause of the injury and on the location, severity, and extent of neurological damage: outcomes range from good recovery to death.
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