Brain injury management Flashcards
What are the risk factors for TBI?
Male (1.5-2.5x)
Age 15-24 or 75+
Alcohol
Risk taking behaviour
Lower socioeconomic status
Psychiatric history
What are the types of TBI?
Direct impact - damage to tissue underlying the impact area
Coup-contre coup - usually after hitting stationary object (generally contre coup is worse)
Acceleration-deceleration - shearing forces cause diffuse axonal injury (road accidents)
Blast injury - damage from shockwave
What are the two types of cerebral hypoxia?
Hypoxic brain injury - due to loss of oxygen supply
Hypoxic-ischaemic injury - due to compromise of blood supply (cardiac arrest/respiratory depression)
Brain scans may look normal in the first few days, over time damage will arise
What areas of the brain are affected most by hypoxia?
Basal ganglia
Thalami
Highly metabolic areas
Worsened by antipsychotics or alcohol withdrawal
What factors affect the recovery in hypoxia?
Duration of hypoxia
Speed of emergency care delivery
Pre existing health status
What is a contusion?
Mix of cortical necrosis and haemorrhage
Where are contusions most common?
Orbital PFC
Medial PFC
temporal pole
Occipital contre coup
What are the pathological outcomes of DAI?
Axonal tear
Myelin resorption
Retraction ball formation
What GCS score indicates severe TBI?
8 or less (comatose)
What is the application of GCS?
Useful in acute scenario
Not a reliable indicator of prognosis
What are symptoms of mild TBI?
Confusion, disorientation
Altered mental state
Headache
Transient loss of function
What is the definition of mild TBI/concussion?
Immediate transient alteration or loss of consciousness after force to the head
How might mild TBI be treated acutely?
Anxiolytics or analgesics
May not need hospital admission
How might severe TBI be treated acutely?
Ventilation and life support
Neurosurgical intervention (eg evacuation of haematoma)
What are the psychiatric consequences of moderate to severe TBI?
25-50% of survivors
Confusion and disorientation
Memory impairment
Dysexecutive syndrome
Affective outbursts: emotional lability
Chronic irritability
Epileptic episodes
Hallucinatory episodes
Paranoia
Intellectual impairment
How long might post traumatic amnesia last?
Minutes to weeks
(Onset might be delayed, such as in extradural haemorrhage)
What is the watershed for PTA and memory improvement?
6 weeks
How does PTA link to long term outcome?
1hr - return to work within a month
More than 2 weeks - residual cognitive impairments
PTA explains 25-50% of outcome